Glass Heart
by KKmarie2121
Summary: "I promised that I would protect you, to never let him near you again. You're so fragile, like glass... I know that I've failed to keep my promises in the past but I plan to keep this one. I can't...let you...break." SHADOUGE. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

**Glass Heart**

Chapter 1 Resenting Fate

By the time he reached the other end of the sidewalk, the minivan already sped past him, carelessly driving over the pothole that was, unfortunately, on this hedgehog's side of the street. Water, mud, and (let's hope nothing else), splashed over the already distraught black hedgehog, soaking him. "Aww thanks a lot you dirty son of a bitch!" Shadow screamed with as much sarcasm as he can muster, as if his anger would somehow affect the speeding car, already miles away.

Shadow was trying to brush off the water, knowing it would be fruitless, when he caught the eyes of two passersby; a grown man, and a young teenager, probably his son, walking quickly through the humid drizzle that was starting to get worse on the cool, early June night. Shadow ignored them; he was used to this kind of shit. But what he couldn't ignore was the fact that that kid wasn't that man's supposed son. No, the kid was owned by the older man, and this assumption was made clear when Shadow noticed the collar around the younger ones neck, and the leash being yanked and pulled mercilessly by the older man.

That kid was a _slave_, and just the mere thought made Shadow sick to his stomach.

The Ultimate Life Form just couldn't stand it, all of it, this nonsense that he was forced to live in every day, all the time. The nonsense that _everyone_ was forced to live in every day, all the time, but the stupidity was only evident to him. Everyone else in Mobius was blind to the hidden meaning of the governments rule; the rule that spelled out the segregation of the rich and the poor. _Yeah, as if they weren't separated enough already_, Shadow thought to himself. The whole idea of it all was meaningless to him. But that didn't excuse the fact that the opinions of the civilians were no longer relevant.

The story never changes, and Shadow has heard it so many times he practically memorized it. Once all the humans had died out all that was left were anthropomorphic animals, including him. Without the humans, the anthros took over the government and made Mobius their own. To add to the senselessness of what they were doing, they thought it would be "fun" to bring back slavery and introduced it to the inhabitants of Mobius. But what they did that tore them apart from the other forms of segregation in the history of the world was how lazy and carelessly they executed it. The separation of the people of Mobius was not based on race or social status, but whether you were "rich or poor." That was it; nothing else but whether or not you had enough money. And their beliefs of what "rich and poor" were nothing short of ridiculous. In the beginning, they would simply bust into your house and if you didn't meet their requirements, you (and anyone else in the household, regardless of age, sex or _anything_) were taken to the now renowned Slavehouse, one of hundreds that were built all throughout Mobius. Now, if you were born into poverty, you were simply given to a Slavehouse, never to see you family again, where you would live and be taught (NOT about schoolwork, if you catch my drift) until you were bought by a Master. As you would have guessed, "Masters" are the rich (or what the government believes are the rich), who are required to buy at least one slave once they reach 18 years old. They have until exactly 2 months from the day the turn 18, no more, no less, no exceptions. If you are not to adhere this, you are taken from your home and killed. End of story. However, you do have one other option. If you don't want to buy a slave, you can work in a Slavehouse instead, but the same principles apply.

In a nutshell, the rich got everything and the poor got shit. Why would anyone agree, or even want, to live in a Hell like this? Shadow didn't understand; he has been trying to avoid it all of his life, and has been quite successful. Being approved as a "rich man" by the government, he was lucky enough to slip by being put into the Slavehouse. _Rich man my ass, I'm barely scraping by, what with living on my own in a crappy two-bit house. Besides, it's not like _G.U.N. _is some big, fancy job. _On an aside, the black hedgehog knew he wouldn't be able to avoid it forever. He just turned 18 a few days ago, and knew that he would have to give in to this craziness. It was mandatory to own a slave (or work in a Slavehouse), and if anything was overlooked, this was not one of them.

The hard rain pounding down on his head brought Shadow out of his trance and back into depressing reality. The rain was getting worse, adding to his already damp, cold fur. Despite being June, the nights were still chilly on Mobius, and it didn't help that he was let out of work at 1 in the fucking morning. He was tired, cold, wet, and was rewarded a headache and stomachache for thinking so much. _Maybe they should just come and take me and kill me, it would be easier anyway. How am I going to possibly buy a slave? A real, living being? They act like the whole process is no big deal… just think of it as going to an animal shelter, where they keep cats and dogs and birds waiting for adoption! The results are the same anyway! What kind of sick person would say something like that?_

The black hedgehog's thoughts were once again interrupted, but this time not by the rain. As he was walking past an alley he heard a noise, almost like a soft, low moan. He stopped, raising his ear, trying to decipher what the noise was or where it even came from. _Maybe it was just some stray dog, _he thought,_ or maybe my mind is just messing with me. I surely wouldn't doubt it._

After a few seconds of silence, he started walking again, only to hear the same noise coming from the same alley again. He stopped once more, looked deep into the dark alley, where a dim streetlight was flickering, but he didn't see much. He heard the moan once more, and it was followed by lower, almost guttural sounds, almost like someone was crying. Knowing that he wouldn't rest easy without knowing what the sound was, he tentatively walked into the entrance of the alley looking around some more, determined to find the owner of that damned voice. What is it even a voice? What else could it be? Animals didn't make that sound; it was too human to be an animal. But what was it? _Who _was it?

The black hedgehog took a few more steps into the alley, and that's when he saw it. Well, he saw _something_. In the back of the alley, in a deep, dark corner was indeed a body, curled up into a small ball. Shadow stepped a little bit closer until he was practically almost stepping on the person. He knelt down to try to get a closer, better look, but the light was too dim and all he saw was the outline of this person. As low and soft as he could he said hesitantly, "Hello? A-are you, um, okay?" What else could he say? He didn't receive an answer, but the figure looked up at him with light, aqua – blue eyes, that were bloodshot, red and puffy. The figure was a girl, possibly the same age as him, from what he could see on her face, and he told her to come a bit closer to him so he could see her in the light. Surprisingly, she did, without any hesitation at all, and Shadow saw that she was a white bat, who was, well…completely naked. But what really caught Shadow by surprise was that she was obviously drugged; her eyes were huge and her mouth was drooling, and just by looking at her anyone could tell she wasn't in her right mind. She stared at the creepy black hedgehog for a few seconds, whom, as far as she was concerned, was just a drug-induced hallucination. And then, she passed out, banging her head on the hard concrete, her body falling so loosely onto the cold, wet pavement.

To say Shadow was taken aback would be an understatement. He was utterly confused and a little appalled at the sight of this poor girl. He knew that, regardless of who she was, he couldn't just leave her here. She would surely die in her state. So, despite everything, he carefully picked her up bridal style and, looking around to make sure no one witnessed what just happened, he ran out of the alley, and skated home as fast as he could, unfortunately not being able to Chaos Control home. The only thought running through his mind was that he hoped no one would see him on his trek home.

Oh, and of course there was one other thought…

_Why the hell did I not bring my Chaos Emerald with me? This girl better be worth it… _


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, yeah this was supposed to be on the other chapter but the stupid thing didn't save so I am writing this on this chapter. Yeah so this is my first time writing stuff like this so DON'T KILL ME if it isn't perfect. The first chap was more like a prologue than anything so that's why it was weird like that but THIS CHAP I think will be better. This may not seem like it should be Mature but just wait and see. The characters might seem a little OOC but not by much. Yeah so please R&R I will accept any feedback and enjoy!**

Chapter 2 Torn Apart

It was around 2 AM by the time Shadow and his, um, "guest" managed to get home. The rain was still pouring heavily and Shadow was soaked from head to toe, but his real problem here was the girl in his arms who, as the hedgehog had noticed once he laid her down on the living room couch, was bleeding from various wounds all over her body. He turned on the light in the living room to finally get a better look at the girl and as soon as he did, he knew he would regret ever coming in contact with this mysterious girl.

She was naked, not a scrap of clothing on her except for the battered, black collar around her bruised neck. As much as he didn't want to, Shadow tried to study this girl from top to bottom and try to decipher why she was in such a state.

Her white hair was tangled into a crazy mess that would take hours to try and brush out, and entangled in them was dirt and grime. Her snow-white face, which was, at a time, very beautiful, was now layered in blood and dirt, with ugly black bruises covering her cheek bones. Her eyes were bloodshot, but the pupils were the normal size, which meant that whatever drug she was on had worn off. The bruises Shadow saw on her neck were obviously from the fingertips of someone strangling her, and he didn't think that fingertips were the only thing that came in contact with her neck. Throughout her whole body all that Shadow kept seeing were patterns and patterns of bruises, wounds, and scars, in any and every place on her body. There were huge gashes across her torso and legs and what looked like Indian burns on her arms. If only they were as innocent as Indian burns. Most of the wounds had scabbed but dirt and grime was glued to them _(what, did this girl not believe in a goddamn band aid?)_ The Ultimate Life Form was disgusted at the site of this poor girl, but at the same time felt pity for her. "She couldn't have done all of this herself ", Shadow said to himself. "But who the hell would let someone treat them like this?"

Now, Shadow the Hedgehog was indeed a cold, careless hedgehog (his "friends" made sure he knew how heartless he could be), but to see someone as battered up as this, as if they just came back from WW2, was plain ridiculous. For now, the best thing he could do would be to clean this girl up, and maybe then she would wake back up because now she was out cold.

He ran to get the first aid kit and some towels and blankets when he noticed that his fur was still soggy from the rain and was now dripping all over the carpet. He ignored it for now and returned to try and clean up this girl as best he could.

There were so many wounds on her that it was tricky to try and not rub over one on accident and have it split back open. This happened so many times that Shadow gave up on the cheap band aids and started using gauze on all of her wounds, no matter how small and severe. The only trouble with that was after a while she began to look like a fricking mummy. _Eh, better than_ _bleeding to death_, Shadow thought.

When Shadow flipped the girl onto her stomach to inspect her backside he realized that it was almost an exact replica of her front side. Horrible, deep, and of course painful gashes covered her back, not an inch of skin was spared. The site of raw, bloody flesh was almost becoming unbearable to Shadow, but he swallowed back his convictions (and his lunch) and began work on her back. That's when he noticed that, along with the injuries painted on her body, there were also patterns of red and white liquid that had dried to her dirty skin and fur. Shadow told himself that that the liquids were food condiments and NOT bodily fluids.

After about 45 minutes of clean up time for the white bat, the black hedgehog finally took a step back to inspect his work. She didn't look any better than before…but she didn't look any worse.

"Who the hell is this girl? And why was she in an alley at this time of night?" Shadow was very confused but he did come up with two supposable theories. The one theory was that this girl was a junkie, hence why she was so drugged out in an alley, and probably prostituting out on the streets, hence why she was naked and beat up like this. Though there was a collar around her neck, Shadow figured that that cheap, battered up black piece of leather could easily be a choker, or once was a choker.

The other theory, which didn't seem as plausible, was that this girl was a slave. It would explain her wounds, but not her location. Why would she have been in an alley? If a Master ever wishes to get rid of their slave they could easily send them back to the Slavehouse for a return and exchange for a new slave. The old ones that are returned would be killed off anyway; no one wants to ever buy old, used property. So leaving your slave in an alley wouldn't only be illegal, but stupid.

There could be other reasons, of course, as to why whoever this girl was is like this, but Shadow didn't bother trying to play the guessing game. He figured that when she woke up he would be able to get some answers.

Maybe.

Either way, it didn't look like she was waking up anytime soon; she was officially K.O.'ed. He laid her head down on the softest pillow he could find (he thought that anything less than soft would practically break the girl's fragile head) and laid down some blankets on her. He would deal with her clothes, and a bath, later on when she was conscious. He walked out of the living room into the hallway to put back the kit and whatever garbage he had. And, of course, when he came back, the couch was empty.

He looked around the living room; she couldn't have gotten far, not in her state. He found her, soon enough, hiding in a corner behind him, curled up into a ball, cowering in fear over the black hedgehog. Shadow slowly walked towards her, in which she moved closer to the wall, trying to become one with it, doing whatever she could to get away from the scary hedgehog.

"It's okay," Shadow said softly, "I'm not going to hurt you. You don't have to be afraid of me."

Obviously, she didn't buy it.

"P- please", she said in a voice Shadow could barely hear, "please j-jjust leave-ve me a-alone…I d-don't wanna p-play a-anymore, M-master."

What? She might still be drugged, but that didn't seem likely. She was probably too scared to even think straight, because obviously she thought Shadow was her Master.

Shadow ignored her words, for now, and tried reaching out a hand towards the frightened bat. She tried to move away but was stopped by the wall. Instead she lowered herself as low as her body would let her onto the floor and didn't dare look up at Shadow. He could see she was trembling, a steady vibrating motion you could hear in her words but only see up close.

"Please, it's alright, I'm not going to hurt you. I found you in an alley and…well, I just couldn't leave you there so I… um…" The word alley caught her attention and she looked up at Shadow, tears staining her face, more tears about to leave her eyes. She held Shadow's gaze for awhile longer, but forced her head back down as if she thought Shadow was going to hit her or something. "W-why did you c-come back f-for m-me, M-master? I-I thought you d-didn't want me a-anymore…p-please Master j-just leave me a-alone p-please! I don't w-wanna…I c-cant…pleases j-just l-leave me alone M-master! PLEASE MASTER!" She buried her head in her knees and didn't dare look at Shadow again.

Shadow was taken aback at the sudden turn of events that took place in less than 5 minutes.

_Why was this girl, whose name I have yet to find out, was calling me Master?_

_Why was she acting like this, screaming and bawling at me, like she knew me or something?_

_What was she talking about, all that nonsense she was screaming at me?_

Shadow didn't know the answers, it was all too confusing and his headache was starting to come back (it never really left) but he was sure of one thing.

_I was right. And she isn't a junkie / prostitute. _

**Yeah, a junkie / prostitute. The word whore just wasn't appealing to me…anyway tell me what you think! Or not! Please! **


	3. Chapter 3

**You know what I almost forgot… I don't own Sonic and co. Sorry if I busted your bubble….. Anyway, here's chapter 3! **

Chapter 3 Thicker Than Blood

"Can I at least know your name?"

Aqua eyes looked up at the hedgehog, tear-stained and now almost redder than Shadows own eyes, and just stared at him, for the longest time, with no indication of whether or not she even knew or heard of what he was talking about. Shadow expected this…

20 minutes. He stared at this girl for 20 minutes, crying into the wall (he _really_ looked forward to cleaning _that_ wall once all this nonsense was over) and not daring to look up at him, just sitting there, curled up into a ball, crying her strained eyes out. Shadow gave up trying to foolishly coax her into coming out, to make her believe that he wasn't here to hurt her. He now sat on the couch, running his hand through his battered up quills (you can thank the rain for that), waiting for this girl to say something. Or do something. Or stop crying.

Or to do ANYTHING.

Alas, she just continued to stare at him. Staring, staring, staring. Until finally, after about 10 minutes of contemplating whether or not she should say something, she let out a single "What?"

If there was a contest for banging your head against a wall, Shadow would win first prize.

He buried his head in his hands. How was he going to get through to this girl, if he couldn't evenget a goddamn name out of her?

"B-but, you already know m-my n-name…" That got his attention, and his head sprung up to see the bat staring at him, once again, but this time with a look of confusion. "N-no I don't…" he said. "I've never seen you before in my life. You must have me confused with somebody else…" She looked as though the latter sentence was too hard to believe. "But, you…I, um…"

As long as this [wonderful] conversation was going, Shadow was at least glad to have her talking, so he quickly changed the subject. "Would you like to know _my_ name?" he asked her. She nodded her head tentatively as she wriggled a bit away from the corner of the wall and scooted a little towards the couch Shadow was sitting on_. Sudden change of heart about me?_ Shadow thought, but he didn't pursue it. He wouldn't dare risk having this girl resort back to the "corner of tears."

"My name is Shadow, Shadow the Hedgehog." It took her a while to grasp his words, and when she did she was still confused. "S-shadow?" she said, as if the letters were like metal cutting the roof of her mouth. "Your name is Shadow?" He nodded his head, and waited _patiently_ for the girl to say something back. She did, almost on cue, thank God.

"So, your name isn't…and you aren't… oh, I um…I'm sorry, I didn't know…I mean…" "It's okay, it's okay," Shadow tried to assure, "so I was right, you did have me confused with someone else, didn't you?" She looked at him, but this time with a face that spoke more of relief and newfound logic and understanding than of fear and confusion. "Yes," she said softly, "I, um I guess I did…"

There was still some sort of hidden factor about her; something just wasn't right with her. Shadow decided that now, since they were at some sort of understanding with each other, was not the time to ask. Thankfully, she butted in with a question of her own.

"Would you like to know my name?" _ No shit, Sherlock, _Shadow thought to himself, but instead he sweetly replied yes. "My name is Rouge. Well, it was… But I guess you can call me Rouge, if you want."

_Well, it was…? What_ _was that supposed to mean?_ And then Shadow realized it; it was pretty obvious. Remember how he said that this girl was most likely a slave? Well, he was right, she was, you can tell by, well, everything about her really, it _was _quite obvious. Anyway, most slaves have their names changed once they are bought, regardless of age. Their Masters choose whatever name they want for them, and they would have no choice but to live with it. This was probably Rouge's case, which was why she added that he can call her anything he wanted to. Theoretically, slaves didn't own their name. And even though Shadow never had any experience with stuff like this, he could tell that this bat was a cold, hard, slave. Literally.

"Ok then, I'll call you Rouge. Now, can I ask you something?" "Of course, Mr. Shadow," she replied, scooting in closer towards him until she was on her knees in front of the couch, with eager eyes glued upon the dark hedgehog. "Mr. Shadow", how nice to be called something that sounded so important for a change. But it wasn't like she was being polite or anything, it was law. Slaves were never allowed to call anyone by their first name without at least putting a Mr. or Miss. in front of it. Technically, Shadow could have her put to death for saying his name out loud before.

"I found you in an alley, drugged out and unconscious. I brought you here because I knew that if I didn't those cuts and gashes on you would have caused you to bleed to death. Now, can you please tell me what that was all about? Why the hell were you naked (she still is, and it was hard not to look at her) sitting in an alley at 1 in the morning?"

Her eyes were now shifting back and forth, and she looked down onto the floor as if she was trying to remember something. She said, "I-I remember being drugged out, but I don't remember being in an alley… or seeing you… the last thing I remember is banging my head on something hard, and then all I saw after that was blackness… then I woke up here. Really Mr. Shadow, that's all I remember."

Now it was Shadow's turn to stare at her with unforgiving eyes. After all of this, she didn't remember what had even happened to her? Or how it happened?

He continued to stare, taking every inch of her in, as if he wasn't ever going to see her again and he wanted to remember every aspect of her whole being. There she was, kneeling on the floor with her eyes and head down, the very picture of a docile slave, naked, with gauze and bandages surrounding her trembling body, which seem to tremble on and off at random intervals, Shadow has noticed. How quickly she changed her attitude towards him once she heard the word Shadow. She practically became a totally different person. Some of the cuts that were unfortunate enough to be on her knees and legs had cut open due to her rubbing them against the tough terrain of the rug, but nothing too serious. Besides, it didn't even look like she was in any pain. But she must have felt something, there was too many wounds on her, she had to be feeling immense pain, just was extremely good at hiding it. The thick cuts on her body, which would make anyone faint just at the poor sight of her, the thick blood that oozed out onto the bandages Shadow had so carefully placed on her delicate skin.

Thick blood, almost as thick as the lie she just gave Shadow.

**That last line practically PWNS every other line is this story, lol. Anyway, I have a question. What color are Rouges eyes? Some people say they are aqua, but when I look at clips on youtube they look almost green… but what color are they really, or were they originally? First person to answer back gets a cookie! Lol. Anyway tell me what ya think… **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4! Enjoy!**

**XXX**

Chapter 4 Frozen… and Burned

Shadow the Hedgehog was not stupid. He was not gullible, nor dumb, nor open-minded. _Anyone_ would know that. How would a guy, who wasted years trying to figure out the messed up past that plagued his mind, who had gruesome images of his best friend (the only one he ever had) getting her brains blown out, who was forced to be in contact with that pretentious faker Sonic and his hapless friends, who was randomly thrown into battles between Eggman and whatever guy they so happened to find, who worked a two-bit job where all of his co-workers hated him, who had no choice but to live in this God-forsaken world, who now had to deal with this girl all because he heard that damn noise in that damn alley, a guy who was just…hated, no, misunderstood by everyone, be considered any of those things?

No, Shadow the Hedgehog was _not_ stupid.

And this girl was _not_ telling the truth. The shifting in her eyes, the "ums" in almost everything she said, her sudden eagerness to be close to him… he wasn't having any of this.

On the other hand, her change of mood wasn't necessarily a bad thing. She _was _talking to him now, and she wasn't afraid of him either. She _really did_ turn into another totally different person…

Shadow knew that jeopardizing this girl's (perhaps temporary) openness would be a luxury he just couldn't afford. And with one look at the 3:03 A.M. on his clock, it proved that he didn't have any other choice. It was against his convictions, something he would never belittle himself with. But what else could he do?, if he wanted to help this girl. He would have to believe her every word…every word…and every lie she spewed out…

For now.

Rouge remained sitting on her knees, looking up at the hedgehog periodically, then back down again. Just waiting… and staring. In deafening silence.

Finally, Shadow broke the silence and asked, "Um, are you okay? I mean, with all of the marks on your body and everything. When I found you, you were pretty beaten up and you probably would've died from blood-loss if I didn't fix you up. I mean, of course, you aren't 'fine', but I just want to know if there's anything else the matter with you…that I should know." She looked at the bandages on her arms and various other parts of her body, looking as if she hadn't noticed them until now and was utterly shocked at the sight of them.

"You did this?" She looked up at him with a newfound respect. _How cute_, Shadow thought sarcastically. _Of course I did them! Who else could've done them? Fucking Houdini?_ But he knew better than to let his anger get to him. Acting out of character towards this girl would rip apart his whole plan. The plan he himself didn't even understand, but knew it was his only choice. He completely botched the question, _"Yeah, and how did you get them?" _

Instead he told her, "Look, this may sound weird, but now that you're awake and conscious, I might as well help you with your bath and get you some clothes." Her body was so grimy and uneasy to look at that Shadow was actually looking forward to getting this girl cleaned up and clothed.

"My…bath?

Once again, Shadow needed a nice, concrete wall… hard and cold and so easy to bang your skull against.

**XXX**

Getting the confused girl into the bath was more or less harder than actually helping her bathe. Most slaves, if sold to the typical Master, would usually just pour cold water on their pets once a week. Thoughtless Masters who couldn't care less about their pathetic property would rarely ever allow their slaves a simple "cold shower", which led the poor things to even worse conditions than Rouge was in.

Shadow managed to get the water to a temperature that he thought would be comfortable for her. He ended up with something in between scalding hot, which would've burned her wounds excruciatingly, and freezing cold, which would've made her trembling 10 times worse. While he was adjusting the water Rouge had opted to remain on her knees while she waited on the cold floor of the bathroom. Shadow hated seeing her, _anyone _really, like this. He told her that she didn't have to demean herself like that, that he wouldn't care if she sat on the edge of the bathtub or even the toilet seat. But her eyes got huge with fear when he mentioned it, so he dropped the subject and let her do what she wanted.

But telling a slave that they could do whatever they wanted was like telling Eggman he lost weight.

Anyway, once the water was perfect (or so Shadow thought) he held onto Rouge as she stepped in the tub. And promptly sprung her foot out of it. She started screaming and she clung onto Shadow, acting as if the water just bit her.

"WHAT? What happened? What's wrong?" Rouge started crying now, hysterically screaming, "It's too hot! Master, it's too hot! Please, please, Master it burns!"

How could it have been too hot? He made sure it wasn't, he even took off his gloves to make sure it was comfortable. As he kept his grip on her he added more cold water, but just a small amount or else it would've overpowered the warmness. He had her step in again, but she insisted it was too hot still. Impossible, but he added just a bit more of cold water, and had her try once more. No luck, not with this girl.

"Rouge, it CAN'T be too hot!" Shadow insisted, rubbing his temples as he tried to get through to this girl once again, "the water is practically freezing now! There's no way it can be too hot still." But she just shook her head, holding herself as she began shrinking down to the ground, but Shadow pulled her straight up and almost dragged her toward the tub and picked her up to put her in. Despite her weary condition, she tried to fight back, and started begging and pleading with Shadow to let her go.

"Please! Please, Master! Don't do this, please I'm begging you, don't do this to me!" Her voice, her desperation, right down to her (simply-put) pathetic-ness, made Shadow's spine shudder, as he realized what he was attempting to do. He loosened his grip entirely and watched as she sunk to the floor (her only friend for the time being), her knees to her face, bawling into her hands.

What was the matter with this girl? Did she actually believe Shadow was going to scald her in the tub, or drown her? And where did this "Master" appreciation come along? She was just calling him "Mr." a minute ago… Did she actually think…?

Shadow forced himself not to finish that sentence. Instead he knelt down beside the crying girl and carefully put his hand on her shoulder.

"Rouge, look I'm sorry," he told her, "I didn't think it was too hot, I thought it would be okay…" She wasn't convinced. He sighed in exhaustion. "Look," he said, "I'll add more cold water, until you say it's good enough, ok?" She looked up at him, with those beautiful eyes of her's, and swallowed hard before saying softly, "Ok."

So he added more cold water and didn't stop until she said so. Which took about 3 minutes in total, until she pulled out her wet hand, looked at it for a full 2 minutes., and said quietly,

"Ok, it's good now."

In the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, AMEN! Shadow made the sign of the cross on his chest before once again helping her in. This girl was turning out to be more than she was worth.

"Thank you, Master." , came the sweetest voice he ever heard.

Then again, she wasn't as bad as she seemed.

**XXX**

The bathwater was cold, needless to say, but as long as it made her happy, Shadow kept his mouth shut. Luckily, she didn't complain as he cleaned her, rubbing over her tender skin, fearing it would break if he went too hard. The only trouble mentionable was when he reached her private areas. There was no way in Hell he was about to go down that direction. Apart from what he saw on the internet and whatever Maria had taught him on ARK, what experience could he possibly have with the female body? It wasn't like he ever had a girlfriend or anything (hard to believe, am I right?), and he wasn't about to reveal himself as a pervert any time soon. So when he handed the washcloth to Rouge and told her to deal with "those areas", he meant it. She stared at him, confusion and other emotions mixed on her face, but she didn't disobey him. Not if there was a chance he could be her…

"Oh, God, I almost forgot. If you don't mind, I would really appreciate it if you didn't call me Master anymore. I'm not saying this to be mean or anything, it's just the truth. I'm not your Master, and you know that."

She stopped her movements, and looked up and said, "But if you aren't my Master, then why do you care so much about me?" A pause. "Master?"

He rested his arms on the edge of the bathtub and motioned for her to continue washing herself, which she did dutifully. "I care about you so much because you're my responsibility right now. If I left you in that alley you wouldn't be alive right now, and God knows there is no way I would've been able to take _that_ to my grave. So for now you're going to stay with me until you can get back on your feet, then I'll send you back to the Slavehouse. That is where you were from, right? You escaped from there, didn't you?"

A lie. A dirty, stupid, half-assed lie, but one nonetheless. If he was really going to carry out his plan for this girl, it was _him_ who needed to make up her back story, not her. He knew that this wasn't the case, because it was impossible. Never in the history of Mobius has a slave ever escaped from a Slavehouse, they were deemed as too stupid for such a task. And both the slave and Master knew this, as they looked at each other, blood red burning into sapphire blue. She studied his words, his obvious lie, and his kindness toward her. It was his turn to lie to her now. He managed to turn the tables on her, and sweetly as she did.

And she hated him for it.

"Oh, ok…" And she returned to her cleaning, and handed the cloth back to him when she was done, and waited 5 minutes before replying, "Master."

Once her bath was over and he helped her into one of his old robes, he led her to his bedroom. Before she even had the chance to, he told her, "Don't get on your knees; stay standing." She did so, as he rummaged through his closet to try and find some of his old clothes that might fit her. Despite the obvious gender difference, the hedgehog and bat were almost the same size and stature. And fortunately, he found clothing that might work.

He handed her a simple black shirt, one that looked like it had more room in the chest for her boobs than his other shirts. Of course, there was no way he would have a brassiere in his closet, but luckily the material of the shirt was thick enough to stand for a make-shift bra. In other words, her boobs wouldn't look like triangles. Moving on, he also didn't have her "type of underwear", so he gave her a pair of his boxers (how sad…). But it was better than nothing. Next, he looked for a decent pair of jeans, and found some nice dark blue ones that weren't those stupid tight pants. He didn't buy those for himself anyway. She was so skinny, he knew she would need a belt, and gave her a simple black one. Lastly, he found some simple socks for her, and all that was left was shoes. Lucky for her, Shadow had some old ones, which looked like they would fit. _Let's hope to God._

He handed her everything he found, and she held the items loosely in her hands, looking at Shadow for directions. "Well, put them on." A pause. A long pause. A very long pause.

"I don't know how."

**XXX**

**You know, if anyone wants to draw a picture of Rouge in boxers (or Shadow in skinny jeans…) feel free. ****Lol. My longest chapter yet. Not much to say. Awesome cliffhanger though. ;) Anyway please review! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Ch.5! Thank you all so much for your reviews! I really appreciate your comments! As always, I accept any feedback…constructive criticism is always good! But enough with the exclamation points! On to the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic and co. Mr. Yuji Naka is so lucky…**

**XXXXX**

Chapter 5 Just Play The Game

Damp fur. Drooping, heavy eyes. Growling stomach. Full bladder, unfortunately. Aching body, pounding head. A girl who was seemingly out of her mind. 100,000 pounds of regret on his back. His whole world falling apart in about two hours…

All he needed now was for Eggman to start tearing up the city and for Sonic to come bursting through the door claiming the Chaos Emeralds have gone missing and this tour-de-force would be complete.

Shadow clinched the skin above his nose and sighed heavily before staring this girl up and down. _'I don't know how.' _Just one more problem to add to his _generous_ list. Though it was perfectly understandable as to why she wouldn't know how – slaves were given a cheap sheath during their time in a Slavehouse, and the sheer aspect of clothing differed from one Master to another – Shadow just couldn't let that stand as an excuse. Still, in all retrospect, this girl could've lived her entire life with nothing on that consisted more of a piece of battered fabric. Remember, more than _**a**_ piece of fabric.

The girl could see that her reply affected Shadow in a bad way, so she put her head down and said softly, "I'm sorry, Master. But I really don't know how to. I don't have to wear them… I could just…"

"No." Shadow interrupted her. "There won't be any of that. Despite the fact that you technically aren't mine, that doesn't mean I'll have you waltzing around naked." Rouge looked up at him with surprised eyes, opening her mouth to comment, but deciding against it, closing her mouth and looking back down.

The black hedgehog thought about what he just said and tried to stifle a laugh. Though it did sound crazy, he very well could've made her go naked during her time here. It wasn't uncommon on Mobius for Slaves to be naked in public. The very thought…

Shadow cleared his throat and decided that if there was any hope of sleeping tonight still left in him, he would have to get this ball rolling. Now.

"Come here, let me help you." Helping a girl (who probably never saw this much clothing in front of her, let alone intended for her before) get dressed.

He would truly rather be fighting Black Doom right about now.

**XXXXX**

Unfortunately, the black hedgehog's hopes were foiled before they even came into fruition. As it turned out, getting Rouge dressed took much more time than it should have. She didn't like the feel of the clothing; she kept trying to get the fabrics off of her body as if they didn't belong there; over and over again she told Shadow that slaves don't wear this, slaves shouldn't be concerned about what they look like, why are you putting this stuff on me? At one point during the fiasco Shadow even considered ripping the clothes off of her himself and just fucking the whole process. But for her sake he swallowed his pride and tried to reason with her as best he could. And finally he managed to get every bit of clothing on her body without her tearing them off. The clothing hung loosely on her; it didn't exactly look like it belonged on her, but in comparison to her birthday suit it was much better.

"Well, now that the clothes are covering most of your marks and, all in all, they make you look 'better' than before, you almost look like an actual person." Rouge just stared at him with that utter look of confusion on her face. She fidgeted with her newfound apparel, but didn't dare try and take it off again. If this is what Shadow wanted…

He looked at the clock on his bedroom nightstand. 6:24 A.M. There goes his sleep. He sighed again, angry and annoyed but most of all exhausted. At least the girl was in better shape than when he brought her here. Now, he was finally able to get a good look at her.

She looked, in all aspects, simple. Yet, there was so much more about her that he was dying to know. And yet, there was no way she would be spilling the beans anytime soon. He wanted to know why she was in that alley, why she has those bruises and scars all over her body, why her sudden change of heart occurred so, oddly and uncouth, why she was _still_ calling him 'Master' despite what he told her, and every other question about her. He knew she knew the answers to his questions, and they both knew what Rouge was hiding. But she was obviously in no mood to answer those questions and spare any details.

Or so Shadow thought.

Seeing that it was no longer nighttime but morning, the only thing Shadow could think of doing at this moment was eating. Sleeping was out of the question for now, for he could never fall asleep in broad daylight and he wasn't one to take naps, so he could at least get some food in him. But more importantly, get some food into this girl, who desperately needed some. Her stomach was probably about the size of a damn chestnut.

"Look, how about I make us some breakfast, okay?"

"Okay, Master." _Goddamn this girl…_

**XXXXX**

"I already told you, you don't have to drop on your knees every time we enter a new room. Go sit at the table."

"But I don't belong at the table. Slaves deserve to be on the floor, Master."

"Well, there's been a change of plans. Now go sit at the table, I don't want you on the floor."

"But Master, I…"

"Off the floor, now."

"No, Master, please…"

"The table, now!"

"Master, I…"

"GET OFF OF THE FUCKING FLOOR AND GO SIT AT THE FUCKING TABLE, SO HELP ME GOD!"

Rouge flew to the table faster than Sonic ever could've, and that's saying something.

Shadow would be lying if he said that he didn't feel sorry for how he yelled at her. But he would also be lying if he said that this girl didn't deserve it. Everyone knows that a tired Ultimate Life Form was much worse than a fully rested Ultimate Life Form. And after having to call in sick to work to take care of this girl today, just one more thing to add to his ever-growing list, he was getting pissed off. And the only one to take his anger out on was this girl. Which made sense because she was the cause of it all.

After slamming the cupboards shut after failing to find anything good to eat he looked back at Rouge to find that was softly crying at the table. She sat on the kitchen chair feebly, her arms wrapped around herself as tears fell from her eyes to her cheek then to the table. Her image slowly reminded him of Maria, whenever she would be crying back on ARK. And how he would always be there to comfort her, to wrap his arms around her and let her know that he was there for her.

But this girl wasn't Maria. And Shadow wasn't ready to go down that road again.

Still, he placed a hand on her shoulder, and Rouge must've thought that he was about to strike at her, for she winced at the touch. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, I didn't mean it." He tried to think of something else to say, to make his apology worthwhile. "It's just…I'm so tired. And with all of this going on, it just gets overwhelming. I never had a slave before; as a matter of fact I never had any _experience_ with a slave before in my life. But I promise I won't snap at you again. But if I tell you to do something, or to not do something, I want you to listen and do as your told, alright? It will make all of this so much easier. I already told you, even though I'm not your Master I'm as close to one as you're going to get right now, so you better start treating me like one." Their eyes locked for a moment, and Shadow wiped away a few tears from her eyes. "Okay?"

"Okay. Sir." _Finally, she isn't calling me Master anymore. Well, at least for now she isn't, which is more than I could've asked for. Maybe I'm finally getting through to this girl?" _

But then Rouge did something that caught Shadow completely by surprise. She bent down by Shadow's feet and starting kissing his shoes. Shadow's first impulse was to kick her out of the way and tell her it wasn't necessary, but then a thought hit him. _She's only doing this because, as they say, she's 'grateful' for what I'm doing for her. This is her way of saying 'thanks.' _

What a horrible way to thank someone, but Shadow refused the urge to stop her. If this was what she was accustomed to doing, despite Shadow hating the fact, he would let her have this. But the 'thanking' did not end with the kissing of his skates. She moved up his leg and starting kissing the soft red and black fur covering them. At first Shadow deemed it as harmless, just another version of how thankful she was. And that was what it looked like, and felt like, as she kissed his legs, then went farther up towards his knees. Shadow secretly hated letting her play this little game, but she seemed like she was enjoying it. And Shadow knew he would have to play along too if he wanted to find out what she was hiding from him. But how long was he going to play this angle? How long would he have to play their little game?

And then her lips moved up to his crotch.

**XXXXX**

**Hmmm, things are getting pretty hot and heavy in the kitchen, aren't they Shadow? Lol. Now I know what you're thinking: "When are we gonna get to the good stuff?" "Why is there so much filler?" "Why is this rated M if there aren't any lemons going on?" "Argin Flargin!" I promise things will start heating up (bad pun) next chapter and your questions will be answered! Okay? Thank you. (I love you all) Oh yeah by the way the summary for this story is on my profile. The actual summary that covers the whole story. **

**Please review! And remember, don't make Shadow angry! Especially if he's tired!**


	6. Chapter 6

****

**...And we press on! Thanks for the reviews as always!**

****

****

Also, I have a proposition for you guys! But that will be discussed later, I promise. For now, enjoy chapter 6!

********

**XXXXX**

Chapter 6 Give In To Fear, Live In Fear

The blush registered on Shadow's face faster than he had hoped for, and without thinking he violently shoved her out of the way, and she fell backwards onto the kitchen floor. It wasn't until he looked up from his "area" that he saw that she was now sitting dumbfounded on the floor, staring into space, not a hint of emotion evident on her features. He thought that he had actually hurt her, since the ratio of his strength (despite his lack of sleep) to her stance as of now was an approximate 1000: 1. Shadow was indeed known for his stubbornness and dispassion towards everyone he came into contact with, but he told himself over and over again from the time he brought this girl here and learned her (thought extremely vague) story that he would have to be different. He even forced himself to make a mental note NOT to act violently with this girl, not in her state. Now, he mentally kicked himself for hurting her. He was about to help her up when once again, she surprised him with yet another "talent" of hers.

The way she fell had her ending up on her butt, no doubt bruising it, but instead of crying or even asking what she did wrong that caused Shadow to act out in such a way, she sprang back up onto her knees and grabbed both of his legs tightly.

"I'm sorry, Sir!" she started to scream, and you would think by now with all of the screaming she's been doing since she woke up her throat would be raw. Somehow she still had some voice left to apologize, albeit in the crazy way she (though it seems) was accustomed to. She started screaming hysterically about how sorry she was for "angering Sir" (making Shadow mad), and how she would do _anything _to earn his forgiveness.

"Please! I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to upset you, Sir! Please, if you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I will be very grateful! Please, Sir, I am so very sorry!" Now she started to cry, burying herself into Shadow's knees and clinging to them tightly. Said hedgehog, meanwhile, was trying to make sense of it all. _What just happened? What did I do? Well, I know what I did but…what did I do?_ Unfortunately, logic never had a chance to break through to his mind. Rouge had locked herself onto his legs so tightly that Shadow lost his balance and fell over. He was now on top of her, and Rouge was lying on her back on the floor. Thankfully, he didn't fall _exactly_ on her. But close enough. Very close enough.

Their eyes locked, and for a while they said nothing. Realizing that waiting for her to respond proved fruitless, Shadow broke the silence. Well, he tried to.

"Look, you don't have to 'thank' me in that kind of way. In fact, you don't have to thank me at all…" He wanted to say more, but the blush was still apparent on his cheeks, burning his face.

"You, you mean I don't have to thank you? But you've been so kind to me… I just wanted to show you…" She trailed off, trying to think of nice words that wouldn't tick off Mr. 'I'm gonna shove you even though I said I wouldn't.'

_No,_ Shadow thought, _that wasn't what I wanted to say, not at all. But what can I say?_ Words were flying around in his mind, trying to form sentences but failing to do so. All of this was just too overwhelming, it was all piling up, becoming too much…

The only words he managed to spew out of his mouth were, "Um, I-I have to use the bathroom…" And he jumped off of her, leaving her on the floor. _Yes, that is _exactly_ what I wanted to say._

**XXXXX**

After doing his business, Shadow sat on the toilet seat, burying his head in his hands, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion. How dramatically his life had changed, and it was only about 6:30 in the morning. Not even a whole day passed by, and he managed to fuck up his life so easily. The only upside he can think of was that now at least his bladder wasn't full.

But that upside slowly dissipated as he remembered all of the other shit he got himself into.

This girl, something was the matter with her. It wasn't just what she was hiding from him, but how she was doing it. It was so confusing, and Shadow didn't like to be confused. So, he tried to run through everything he knew about Rouge so far in his mind. He thought that maybe this would help.

_Her name is Rouge, or so she says. She is a slave who obviously has some trouble dealing with her past, and her lies. I found her in an alley, beaten up and drugged. Yet when I questioned her I received nothing but a cheap excuse she spruced up. At first she was terrified of me, now she's trying to literally kiss my penis. I cleaned her up, told her she could ignore "slave-ness" for now, but refused to listen to me. She's trying to win me over with her 'I'm a sweet little slave who wasn't lying half-dead in an alley, telling you lies about my whereabouts, will you be my Master?' charade. She made me mad, confused, mad again, then just plain freaked out. Then I had to pee. And I still have no better recognition of this girl._

He didn't know how long he was in the bathroom contemplating, and he really didn't care. But when he opened the door to walk out, there she was, sitting on her knees outside of the door waiting for him. All that Shadow wanted to do at this point was kick her in the face. When he accusingly asked why she was there, her reply sent shivers up his spine, and it erased every bit of hate towards her out of his mind.

"I didn't want to be alone, Sir. I'm scared."

And he stared at her, for the longest time, until finally he helped her up and held her hand as they walked back to the kitchen.

**XXXXX**

She sat on the chair with no complaints (or tears) this time. Just looking sad, her hands folded in her lap, sitting quietly. In contrast to Shadow's thoughts, she tried not to think about him snapping at her, and the stunt she pulled to make him do so. Rouge has seen it all before, from countless experiences in her life. It was really nothing new to her, and she wished she could tell Shadow this. But she thought he was different. And now she realized she was wrong.

She was wrong about him…too. But she forced herself not to think about it.

Shadow, in the meantime, was again busily looking for something to cook, because of their "shenanigans" before, they still never ate anything. Periodically he looked over at Rouge sitting on the chair, obviously phased from their little mishap before. He was still a little peeved at her, but for the most part he just felt sorry for her. Like he had before, but now he better understood it. She was indeed hiding something from him, which was why she tried so hard to cover it up with her nonsense about him being her new… Shadow_ hated_ that word, even when it wasn't spoken aloud. This girl thought that Shadow would accept her with open arms. Why she thought so, Shadow was still trying to figure out. But this girl didn't know_ Shadow_. He wasn't naïve, and he was going to get to the bottom of this mess she created. He knew now that being hostile towards her wasn't going to help any. Sure he managed to figure out more than he already knew from being mean to her, but how long would his anger last on her? No, he had to shove the anger out of his mind for now. He was only adding to her hopes of him taking her in, making her his. Acting like the mean, nasty, violent, sleepy, and status quo Master he was originally destined to be would only let her lie grow, becoming an even bigger mess. No, he swore to not have that happen. He wasn't going to be the fill-in Master for this girl, regardless of whatever happened to her previous one. Yes, he knew that much about her. She had to have a Master beforehand, but she was covering it up with lies. If Shadow wanted to help her, moreover break her lies apart, this was where he had to start. Finding information about who owned her previously. But this was going to be horribly strenuous, so he prepared himself for a long day. He wasn't going to act like a Master either. No, he had to portray what he already told her he'd be to her. For now, for however long she stayed here, hopefully not too long, he would be what he set out to be. A tenant, a half-way-house, a helper for now. Not a Master. Not a Master.

This mess was getting worse than Sonic '06. Ouch.

He cleared his throat, the newfound confidence evident in his demeanor, and asked her, "What do you want to eat?" His voice was casual, tired but simple, as if he was asking her the weather.

"What?" She looked up at him, confused, her eyes a brand new shade of red. _Crying _really_ affects this girls eyeballs, _Shadow thought.

"I asked, 'What do you want to eat?' Just tell me what you're hungry for, anything you want, I probably got it. Just name it and I'll make it for us." The only truth in those statements was that he actually did have a lot of food in his kitchen. Though he wasn't in the mood for any of it, which was why he had such a hard time choosing before.

Regardless, everything else he mentioned was a lie. Slaves usually ate whatever their Masters saw fit for them, which most of the time consisted of either scraps or nothing at all. They weren't allowed to choose their own food. And they definitely weren't allowed to choose the food their Master would eat. Shadow expected Rouge to react like this, but he was determined to have this work. _Just because you insist on thinking I'm your Master doesn't mean I'll treat you like a slave._ He was going to get an answer out of her…

"I'll eat whatever you intend for me to eat, Sir."…though it was going to be very difficult.

**XXXXX**

A fourth time, "What do you want to eat?" A fifth time; a sixth time. Finally, he just went for it and decided he would see what happens.

"Look, what did your previous Master feed you? Anything that stuck in your mind or that you particularly liked?" _This could make it or break it… _

A short pause; the word Master did get her attention, which Shadow was hoping for. Finally, she gave up her defiant act and replied, "Well, there was this one thing he used to make."

"What were they?" _'…__he__ used to make.' I got her._

"I don't know the name exactly, but I can describe them to you."

"Do that then." _I got her._

"There were little brown circles, more like a tan, sometimes even a yellow, and they were puffy. Sometimes they had little dots in them, too. They tasted pretty good, I mean I liked them, but I haven't had them in a long time." She looked up at him, throwing a hand up to her mouth, surprised she allowed those words to exit her mouth. When Shadow did nothing, she let her hand fall, and remained staring at the floor.

_I got her._

Pancakes. She was probably referring to pancakes, and he wasn't shocked that she didn't know the name. But none of that mattered right now. Not even relatively. What did matter was what she said. What she so stupidly said. Shadow was truly surprised at how his idea worked so flawlessly. She had told Shadow before that she didn't remember what had happened to her. Why she was in the alley, why she was beaten up, why she was drugged, anything. All she remembered was hitting her head on something hard, and then blacking out. No mention of a previous life, no mention of a Master.

Oh really?

She stumbled on her own lie. Did she even know she did? Maybe it was her plan all along? Maybe she was hinting something, trying to get something across that she just couldn't blurt out? Or maybe she didn't have any idea what she said. But she had to… The way she so openly blurted out to him shown that this was a lie she didn't want to keep. She didn't want the responsibility of holding it. But why would she keep it, and add to it for that matter? This still didn't make complete sense, but Shadow was learning more than he was before, from being mean, then being nice to her. If he wanted to find out everything she was hiding, and why she was hiding it, he would have to wait for her to spill. She could keep hinting around, but sooner or later the lies would have to break and separate each other. And he was dreading when he would finally have to listen to them.

**XXXXX**

**I personally think that I won the award for best description of pancakes. And also, the Sonic '06 reference, but I was just kidding, I like that game. Hope you like the chap!**

**Anyway, like I said before, I have a little contest for you. Yes, a contest! I've been meaning to do one for a long time, when I started the story, but I totally forgot about it. But then I remembered! And then I forgot around chapters 2-3. Then I remembered again…right now! So here it is:**

**Contest: Sonic the Hedgehog (the character) has made four (4) cameos / appearances in "The Simpsons" episodes. Name two (2) of those appearances. You don't have to name the episodes the cameos are in, you just have to describe what Sonic was doing in them.**

**You can leave your answer in the comments / reviews. The first person to answer wins. The winner will receive their own one-shot story by me. The story will be anything they want it to be about, any pairing, any maturity level, any setting, anything. My only request is for it to be Sonic the Hedgehog. Any other topic, we'll have to talk about it.**

**The answers will be revealed in the next chapter. Remember, this is my first contest, so it isn't that cool. Or maybe it is. You be the judge.**

**Good luck! -KKMARIE2121**


	7. Chapter 7

**I SWEAR TO GOD THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL NOT HAVE THESE RIDICULOUSLY LONG AUTHORS NOTES! I KNOW, THEY ARE ANNOYING, BUT THEY ARE IMPORTANT TOO! I'M SORRY!  
Ok, like I said, sorry about these long authors notes. But, hey, look on the bright side, chapter 7! Yeah! I hope this chap clears up some of the confusion left from chap 6. Don't worry, everything will start making sense soon enough, I promise you.**

Congrats to DarkElement002 for winning the contest last chapter! They (I don't know the gender…) will get their own one-shot. And there will be more contests (I hope) soon enough. Anyway, here are the answers to the question I asked:

Q: Name 2 out of the 4 cameos Sonic the Hedgehog has made in the "The Simpsons."

A: 1) In "Marge Be Not Proud", Bart tries to steal a videogame, and there are several video game characters encouraging him. Sonic, or what looks like a parody of him, is one of the characters screaming "Take it, take it!"

2) In "That 90s Show", Sonic appears on a billboard with Amy saying "What until Marriage."

3) Honestly, this one is pretty hard and I didn't think anyone would catch it. In "Lisa Gets an A", Lisa's playing a video game that's an obvious parody of "Crash Bandicoot." The point of the game (or Lisa says this, I forget which) is to find the "Seven Crystal Babies." They are obviously parodying the "Seven Chaos Emeralds."

4) I shouldn't have counted this one, because it isn't in an episode, but if anyone said it I would've counted it. Sonic is also seen in "The Simpsons Game" but he looks like some weird bird with different quills. But it's clearly him, or supposed to be him.

There ya have it. No more 295 word authors notes for a while. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog. I also don't own The Simpsons. They are property of Sega and Fox respectively.

XXXXX (Fucking Microsoft Word won't let me center the page breaks!):(

Chapter 7 I'll Be Your Tenant

_Do you like waffles? , Yeah we like waffles! Do you like pancakes? , Yeah we like pancakes! Do you like French toast? ..._ In all honesty Shadow couldn't stand any of the above foods, but he still found it hard to stifle a laugh. Since Rouge had said that she liked pancakes, Shadow offered to make them for her. Of course this set off an explosion of questions and remarks and misunderstandings from her, including the ever so famous 'you don't have to make them for me, I will eat the scraps of whatever you make for yourself.' And when he told her that there wouldn't be any scraps, she concluded that she would not eat anything at all. How apt, but how very wrong, too. There was no way in hell Shadow would let this girl miss not even one meal. She wasn't as skinny as her circumstance proposed she would be, but Shadow could easily count her ribs. Luckily most of the extra-large clothing he gave her prevented the public from seeing her malnutrition. But then again, when would she ever be out in public? She was still a little "off", and she was _**still **_hiding the truth from her host, so why would he let her outside near other people, many of which were in the same predicament as her? No, as long as she kept hiding Shadow vowed not to let her outside or near other people, not until her story was straight. But then, with that having been said, several thoughts crossed Shadow's mind. They weren't those good, clean thoughts, either. They were the kind that would force you to look in your counterpart's point of view. The kind that juggle the solution you just made and force you to change it. And as always, the kind that made you feel guilty and, well, like a jack-ass.

Why should he punish her for something she may not even be in control of?_ …a lie she didn't want to keep_. Perhaps this assumption was true? Perhaps she had no choice but to hide her true self from him? Maybe she was hiding whatever she was hiding because of the phantom Master she spoke of? The guy that Shadow still has no detail of. The guy that may very well be the cause of everything… He thought back to when he first brought her here, and the way she acted. It was so much different from the person she was displaying now. Her demeanor as of now did indeed change dramatically from the scared little slave into just a poor, confused being. She was becoming more open with Shadow and didn't fear him unless he got mad at her. And why would she say so openly, without provocation, that she actually had a Master? With these in perspective, Shadow decided to go through with his plan. _Don't be a Master to her. Don't be a Master to her. She'll get it in time, she realize what you're doing. Then, the lies will separate. Then, I'll know the truth. Because now, with all these crazy thoughts about her running through my head, I'm getting nowhere fast. Just wait…just wait._

Poor Rouge, meanwhile, had been staring at this hedgehog for a good 10 minutes now, waiting patiently for him to reply. He was so caught up in his thoughts about her that he actually forgot she was there.

"So… pancakes then?"

**XXXXX (Fucking page break…)**

Rouge knew better than to argue with this guy. He had been so nice to her, took her in, dealt with her wounds, everything, she wouldn't dare try to get on his bad side. He even offered to make her food for her. Pancakes! She couldn't even remember the last time she ate those! She never even knew they had a name until he told her what it was. Wow! She had never met anyone so nice and caring in her entire life…

But there was something about putting chocolate chips in their food that just rubbed her the wrong way.

"I thought they were what you meant when you said 'little dots in them.'" Truthfully, Shadow put them in the pancakes for _his_ benefit; never mind what she was reminiscing about. He put so many of the chips in that there was barely any pancake left in the equation. Rouge, apparently, found this hard to grasp. She thought he put them in the food solely for her, and she had a fit, saying that he didn't have to. But when he explained (leaving out the part about his silly addiction for chocolate lol), she kept quiet and sat in her chair patiently, looking as if she was unfamiliar with the situation at hand. Shadow knew why. Slaves were never allowed any kind of special treat in their food. Hell, they were rarely allowed the actual food most of the time. But since Shadow wasn't playing the "Slave and Master Game" with her, he went out of his way to act weird and different towards her. He wasn't good at it, but it was his only choice.

"Don't worry," he tried to say thoughtfully. "You'll like them, I promise." Promise. That word again.

For his sake, Rouge tried to force a smile. But she just wasn't sure of it all.

Once the pancakes were done, and slightly burnt, Shadow plated them and then took his seat across from Rouge at the table, handing her her plate. He had made sure to give her a bigger serving. He figured that she must have been starving. But you would never know it; she was too good at hiding herself, bottling up her pain. How does she do that so perfectly?

Anyway, when Rouge looked at her plate, heaping with the delicious, sweet-smelling food, she went into mental shock. Why was there so much food on her plate? Did he make a mistake? She looked up at Shadow for an answer but he ignored her because he was too busy stuffing his face. She didn't think he was stupid, he looked very smart, so it mustn't have been an accident that he gave her so much food. But why?

Shadow didn't notice her staring at him until halfway through his own plate, and when he did his stomach dropped to his knees. _What could possibly be wrong NOW?_

"Why aren't you eating?"

"I'm sorry Sir," she said carefully. "But I don't understand." "How to eat?" Shadow asked. "No," she replied. "Why you gave me so much food."

"What do you mean? I gave you that much food because you're starving." It didn't seem right to assume she didn't eat prior to her being in the alley, so he added, "And because you're too skinny."

She weighed his reply, and then said, "But I don't deserve this much food, Sir. Slaves should only get a small serving, but mine is even bigger than yours. You should have mine, I can go without."

There she goes again with that stupid philosophy. She may as well not deserve anything if she thinks like that. And even though this was upsetting him, Shadow remained persistent. "Look," he said slowly, "I know you aren't used to this kind of treatment, that I understand. But I don't want you to think like that anymore, okay? You're with me now, not with some guy that taught you all of these rules. I don't listen to those stupid laws and I don't care about them. So, as long as you're with me, I don't want you to care about them either."

This set her off. "But I'm a slave! I must follow those rules! I must care about them! Don't you know that, Sir?"

"Of course I know that! I know that I'm a Master and I should be following those rules! And I know that you're a slave and should be following those rules, too! But when you think about it, that philosophy doesn't work here, now does it? The only plot hole is that **I don't own you, **and this is why we're butting heads! If I did, then I would have no choice but to listen to them. But since I am only taking care of you, NOT TREATING YOU LIKE MY PROPERTY, then it doesn't matter if I follow them or not." A pause. Then he continued. "Look at it this way: if I owned you, the Slavehouse would know about it and be on my ass making sure I, and you, are doing our jobs. But since I don't, and since they don't know that I don't, I can do whatever I want and act whatever way I choose around you. **Because… you… aren't… owned!** Being with me is the equivalent of being in a Slavehouse for you. I don't own you. I'm only taking care of you. Do you understand now?

She irrevocably nodded her head, but she was obviously upset by his speech. This was new to her. It also was wrong for her. She wasn't brought up like this, and Shadow knew that. What he was saying went against everything she ever learned and everything a slave must abide by. She was not only confused, but scared. He wasn't supposed to be saying things like this. He could very well be killed, or tortured.

Then killed.

For sustenance, Shadow added, "Look, you can still act like a slave around me, still call me 'Sir' and still act respectable near me, because I know that was how you were raised. But don't sweat the little things, alright? Don't worry if I give you more food than you think you deserve, and don't worry if I don't do everything by the book. Hell, you should be grateful that I'm even giving you food at all." He didn't day this with malice initially, but there was a hint of hate in his words that was hard to ignore.

"I am grateful! Really, I am, Sir, please don't think that I don't! But I…" She didn't finish, but Shadow knew what she was trying to say. "How about," he started, "we just agree to disagree?"

"Okay, I guess. Thank you."

"Yep." A part of Shadow was glad that he got it off of his chest, but the other half thought that it was too soon to be saying shit like this. But it was said and done now, and there was no going back. But God that was harder than…well it was very fucking difficult, okay?

**XXXXX**

Surprisingly, she finished her food sooner than Shadow, even though he had less and had started before her. She must have really been hungry then. Once she was done, with Shadow just finishing his last blob of chocolate chip and maple syrup mush, she stared at the plate, then at Shadow, then back at the plate, then to Shadow again. She found a median somewhere between the maple syrup bottle and her discarded fork. When Shadow finished, he ended up staring at the syrup bottle with her, his eyes drooping, almost closing…

"Sir, can I please have a little more?" This got his attention, as he didn't think for one second that she would risk such a question. "You want more?" he asked. "Please? They were really good, and I'm still a little hungry…" She knew she was pushing it (to her standards), so she looked down and put on a face that looked anything but hopeful.

"Yeah, yeah of course you can have more!" He ran to the plate that he had left on the counter, thinking he would just refrigerate the leftovers later. He scooped some of the pancake mess (he wasn't the perfect cook, and they looked nothing like circles, but apparently she liked them) and handed her the plate, which she shoved down her throat in 2 minutes flat. Gee whiz.

In case she asked for even more, Shadow quickly said, "I'm sorry, but that's all I'm going to give you for now. Its not that I don't want you to eat, but I don't want you to eat too much. It might come back up." She did look disappointed, but she didn't argue.

By the time they had finished breakfast it was about 7:30 in the morning. So early, what were they to do now? Shadow decided that, since they practically had a whole day dedicated to them, it would be best to show her around. Show her the places she wasn't already in. He would have to move some of the stuff off of his guest bed, but that wouldn't be too hard. And maybe he would be able to get some more information out of her. He doubted it, though.

So, he showed her around his (beautiful, amazing, 5 star) house. Though it was drab, ugly, cheap, and nothing like the adjectives in the parentheses, she was amazed by it. He told her that she would have access to every room in the house, since he knew that was one of the questions on her mind, but she would not be able to go outside in the yard without his permission. He told her that it wasn't because he wanted to shield her from the public view (though that was secretly part of it), but so she wouldn't get hurt outside. Despite this rule, he did show her how to lock and unlock the doors to the outside, and even showed her around the yard.

She clung onto him tightly the whole time they were outside.

The last room he showed her was his own. True, she was already in here when he was getting her clothes, but during that time she hovered near the doorway, never actually in the room. Now, she was able to get a more detailed look around.

Shadow's room, like most of the other rooms in his abode, wasn't particularly big. All it held was a bed, some dressers and bureaus, a closet, a small, long desk that held a laptop and a T.V., and a small bathroom off to the side. Most of the color scheme was black and red, like him, and if you shut off the lights during the night, you wouldn't be able to even make out the outlines of anything in his room. On some of his dressers there resided guns, knives and many other types of weapons, all laying nonchalantly, waiting to be used. Wasn't exactly a welcoming sight.

On top of one of the bureaus, which was particularly close to Shadow's bed, laid the one picture of Maria that he owned, sitting on top of the small bureau, the only piece of décor on top of it. Rouge had noticed this odd picture and picked up the small frame containing it. She ran her fingers over the glass covering the picture, studying it intently.

"Her name was Maria," Shadow butted in, plopping himself down on the bed and patting the stop next to him. Rouge sat down next to him, the picture still in her hands. "That's the only picture I have of her, so please be careful with it. It means a lot to me."

"She's very pretty," Rouge said. "Did she die in the Uprising?

Now, you would think that this was a harmless question. In fact, you would think that this was the correct answer, too. It would only make sense as to why she assumed her death was because of the Uprising. The Uprising is what the current inhabitants of Mobius call the death of the humans. The humans had another name for it, but since they died out, no one remembered what it was. So, the Anthros decided to just call it the Uprising. (A/N: You're probably wondering why I said in chapter 5 that Eggman was still alive, even though he's a human. My only explanation is that, since he's got an I.Q. of 300 and managed to shape his body like an egg, he managed to escape. And now he's still alive, living on Mobius. I'm sorry, but I really wanted to explain that in the best way I could.) ;)

However, this was in no way how Maria had died. And Shadow, who loved Maria and still held her dear to his heart, was now horribly offended. To think that she died because of a war between the humans and the Anthros? That her death was because of some bloody, terrible war? Shadow felt his blood burn at the thought of that. He didn't want this girl to think that his beautiful Maria died in such a horrible, uncouth, and clichéd way. The way that every other human died.

"No!" He told her, a little meaner than he should have. "She didn't die like that." He told her the story, that horrible story that was embedded into his mind. She didn't die because of some stupid war. She died sacrificing herself for him. She died to save him. Not the way everyone else did. Never that way.

He left out some of the details that Rouge didn't need to know, and he lied about other things that he didn't want her to know. Shadow hated talking about her death, so at some points in the story he found himself digging his claws into the bed sheet out of anger. Not towards Rouge, this was what she thought, of course, but towards the fuckers who killed Maria. When Shadow had finished the story, Rouge looked upset, holding the picture in her hands with a newfound understanding of it. It was indeed hard for her to believe his story. Slaves were only taught that humans died because they started the war against the Anthros. They weren't informed of anything before that, just that they died, and the Anthros won. Of course, this was entirely untrue. There was a time before the Uprising, the time that Shadow was implying with his story. A time where both species lived in peace. She liked the idea of that being true. She wanted to believe it. It was just hard to do so. So much was branded into her mind, and Shadow was just tearing it all up with his story.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked, Sir. I should've just kept my mouth shut like I'm supposed to." She placed the picture back on the stand carefully and folded her hands in her lap, looking down at the floor. Shadow placed a comforting arm around her, pulling her closer to him.

'"No, you don't have to apologize, I should. You were just curious. But I… really hate talking about her. She meant so much to me, and then having to watch her die… it was like losing a sister."

Now, this wasn't a perfect segue from Shadow's topic, but Rouge blurted out anyway, "You've been so kind to me, Sir. You've done so much for me; you've been so nice. I wish there was a way I could repay you…" She looked up at Shadow with eyes that he couldn't quite place. They were asking something, pleading almost. She moved closer to him and placed her hands in a very intimate spot. And then Shadow knew. She wanted to please him. She wanted to suck him off…  
**  
XXXXX**

It would be a lie to say that he didn't want her to do it. Who wouldn't want this girl to suck them off? She was very beautiful, with those amazing eyes, and she was willing to do it for him. But Shadow knew better than to let his urges take him over. He thanked her for wanting to please him, but he told her no. Now was not a time for her to do that kind of thanking. What she did before, what she almost did before, was as far as he would let her go.

For the moment.

The rest of the day went by in a vague, surreal blur. They talked a bit more, nothing important, ate lunch and dinner, and well, just lounged around. Shadow didn't know exactly what to do with this girl. He would keep her here until her wounds healed and then send her back to a Slavehouse, but what about the time in-between?

Once it was about 10 at night and the sun was setting for the day, Shadow helped Rouge into some nightclothes after finally taking a much-needed shower. When he went to take his shower he told Rouge she could sit and watch some T.V. in the living room until he was done and could help her get ready. But she refused to be that far away from him. So he told her she could watch T.V. in his room instead, and he would technically be in the same room, just in the bathroom in his room. But she still didn't like it.

"Please, Sir, I don't want to be that far away from you." It was only a few bloody feet, how bad could it be! But she didn't take no for an answer, no matter what Shadow said. He gave up and let her sit in the bathroom on the toilet seat whilst he took his shower. She was like his shadow…

Once they had their nightclothes on and teeth were brushed and everything, Shadow led her to the guest room. It would be her room for as long as she was living with him. He helped her in and said goodnight, and left the door ajar just in case. Then he went off to bed. And sure enough, not even 10 minutes into his sleep, she came into his room and started poking him gently on the back to wake him up. When he asked what the problem was, all she said was, "I don't want to be alone in that room, Sir. Its scary."

What, was she afraid of the Boogey Man or something? But Shadow knew that there would be no point in fighting with her, and he was too tired to do so anyway, so he sighed and let her in the bed. She cuddled up next to him, whether for warmth or protection or both, he didn't know. But he liked the feeling of her body close to him, so he pulled her closer until their bodies were practically molded into one. Maybe when Shadow wakes up tomorrow, this will all just be a bad dream? Half of him was hoping that it was. But the other half couldn't stand the thought of it.

**XXXXX**  
**  
Aww, Shadow and Rouge are getting closer together! But not all is well! What will happen next? Please Review!**


	8. Chapter 8

****

**Warning: The**_** italicized**_** part of this story includes graphic and gruesome material. Read at your own risk. Said part is also a lemon, so if you don't like torture sex, don't read the part. Don't say I didn't warn you. Please. But, if you're like me, who gets high off of this stuff, by all means enjoy!**

Also, this chapter is more in Rouge's point of view. Sort of.

XXXXX

Chapter 8 Nightmares and Stories

_The freezing metal underneath her burned into her skin, sending a thousand daggers through her already bruised and beaten body. Her hands were tied above her head, the rope tight around her tender skin, tied off at some unknown place, probably the leg of the table she was on. Her legs received the same treatment, the rope slowly stopping her circulation. When she tried to open her eyes, a stark white light made its way into her pupils, temporarily blinding her. When the stars stopped shining and the blotches started to fade, her eyes locked onto something above her, nothing in particular. Her imagination? Or was it really there, staring down at her? She felt the long and dirty metal gag in her mouth, poking at the back of her throat, sending her into a choking fit every time she swallowed. She couldn't move, she couldn't speak, couldn't scream. She sat there, for about an hour, or maybe even days or weeks; her senses weren't becoming clear to her, and her mind felt like there was lead in it. Why was she here? No, she knew why she was here. But how long was she out, and what happened to cause her to black out? She blamed it on the needle that was shoved into her arm. Or was it the pill being forced down her throat? Could be, but then again it could be the stained cloth being pressed against her lips. Or even a swift blow to the head. Either way, every body part mentioned hurt like hell._

__

True, she didn't know how long she was there, but wouldn't her body heat warm the table she was laying on at least a little bit? It remained cold, sending tremors to course through her body. Somebody was lowering the temperature of the room. She presumed it was now close to 10 degrees, probably lower. Her naked body shivered uncontrollably, tears started to form in her eyes, the situation finally getting to her. She was just about to attempt a futile cry for help…when he entered the room.

__

She looked toward the sound of the door creaking open, and then being closed shut, with a sense of finality to it. The light residing above her proved to be useless to her. She couldn't see the figure that entered the room, but she knew who it was. Or who it was supposed to be.

He walked toward her slowly, until he was standing right above her bound form. Placing a clawed hand on her stomach he said, "Oh Rougey, my poor little Rougey, what am I going to do with you?" His hand migrated down to her vulnerable opening, and mercilessly he shoved his hand inside her. She screamed in pain, her yells muffled by the gag. He went in deeper, harder, causing her to bleed instantly. She wriggled on the table, fighting against her bonds, losing miserably. Without warning, he quickly pulled out of her, the friction adding pain on Rouge's behalf. His hand was now soaked in her blood and womanly fluids, and he smiled evilly as he looked at it.

"Oh, my little pet," he said with fake concern. "Look what you did to your Master's hand!" He wiped some of the liquids on her face, but most of it was stained on him. He laughed. "And what do you think we should do about that, hm?" She muffled something through the gag, something between a cry and a plea, but he only laughed at her distress. He took the gag off of her, and she gasped for breath, tears running down her face, less from the pain than the humiliation from him. His clawed hands moved toward her already stained cheek, slowly moving toward her lips. He looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to get the hint. It didn't take long for her to realize it.

"No, please Master, no!" She begged him.

"Open your fucking mouth slave!" He ordered.

"No, please I beg you, Master!"

"I said, 'open your slut mouth' you little bitch!" Not bothering to wait for her reply, he forced his dirty hand into her mouth, choking her. Not having any other choice, she was forced to taste her own blood and cum on her tongue. She licked as quickly as she could, hoping he would pull his hand out soon. He did, but only to force his mouth into hers, licking every crevice in her mouth with his tongue. She was becoming out of breath, but he didn't show any sign of stopping. With his mouth still on hers, he bit her lips as hard as he could until they bled painfully.

His menacing fangs moved down from her face to her neck and bit, leaving small but deep teeth marks on her skin. He lapped up the blood, licking his lips, and looked up at her pain-stricken face. She was crying uncontrollably, begging him to stop. To add to her pain, he simultaneously raked his sharp claws along her body, thin lines of blood seeping from the fresh cuts. She screamed, banging her head on the table beneath her, trying to escape the pain. He only laughed at her, and moved his lips down to her chest, where he, without warning, bit her nipple sending a wave of pain through her entire being. Ignoring her desperate cries for mercy he continued his biting path until he reached her abused opening. Her eyes widened, fearing what was coming next.

Reading her mind, he started to lick her bloody opening instead of biting it. "Oh don't worry, my little pet, I have other plans for your sweet flower…" She knew what he meant. And it wasn't any better than what she thought at first.

He jumped up onto the table, carelessly balancing himself and leaning on his poor captive, his weight causing her pain. He forced another kiss onto his slave, albeit this one a little more consensual, but it was only to distract her from what he was really planning. Again without warning, he shoved his erect member inside her, hard and fast. She screamed at the sudden intrusion, and he pulled in and out of her, not caring how bad he was hurting her.

He fucked her hard and fast, and she screamed crazily as she bled heavily from her opening. He laughed, and laughed and laughed as he fucked her, her screams and tears only adding to his pleasure. "Yeah, tell me you like it, bitch! Come on, tell me you fucking love it!" To add to the torture he took one of her breasts and squeezed it tightly, and she howled in pain. He squeezed until his claws slid easily into her flesh, and they bled. She yelled until her throat became raw. Her screams became low guttural sounds, sounding like an animal with a broken paw.

"Please stop, PLEASE! I'll do anything, Master, please!" But the Master only continued, taking a clawed finger, and very carefully scraping it along her body, starting at her forehead, and moving all the way down to her opening. This guy really liked his claws,, especially when they met he skin. When he was finished, there was a single, thin line of blood along her upper half, ending at her opening. A deep trail along her skin, it started to bleed at once. Add that to the blood she has currently lost, and the stopping of her circulation causing her body parts to go purple, she was starting to lose consciousness, the stars and the blotches returning. Good. This was good. Maybe if she lost enough blood she would die. Then the pain would stop. But she knew the truth. She didn't kid herself. All in all, there wasn't enough blood to kill her. But close enough. So close, but no cigar. The pain in her body was still there, but it became numb and heavy. Her ears were ringing, her mind grew fuzzy, and the torturer was fading in and out.

__

The last thing she heard was her evil Master saying, "You remember this, slave. You know what I told you… you try that shit again… and this punishment… will be but a pale reflection of what I'll do to you…"

She awoke at once, cold sweat painted on her skin. She sat up in bed, bringing her knees to her face and wrapping her arms around herself. Tears started to form in her eyes, but she wasn't sure why. She turned to the left of her and saw that a window was open a crack, cool wind blowing in. Master must have left it open, before he left her in her room. Yeah, now she remembers. She passed out when Master had finished using her, and he planted a soft kiss on her cheek before she blanked out completely. He must've left the window a crack for fresh air.

But then she looked to her right, and noticed something odd. This wasn't her room. That wasn't her window. In fact, this wasn't even her bed. There was something lying next to her. Master? No, he didn't like to sleep with her, in her bed. But this wasn't her bed, she reminded herself. And this wasn't Master.

It was a black hedgehog, with red stripes on him, sleeping soundly. Then she remembered. Shadow? Was that his name? Yeah, the picture was becoming clear to her now as she remembered her current situation. Shadow, that sweet hedgehog that took her in. That nice hedgehog that promised to protect her… that promised he would…

No. She told herself this so many times, pounding it inside her head, trying to get it through to her. No. She wasn't going to be his… and he wasn't going to be her… so why did the thoughts constantly consume her mind, forcing her to face her secret desire? He had no intention of taking her in. She knew that. She knew it so well.

So why did she not believe it?

She looked at the black hedgehog, his sleeping face reflecting that of a person that most definitely had a hard life. A person who was born a pessimist, who didn't let his hopes take him over and eat him up. Like she did. But included in that face was also a hint of beauty. A hint of satisfaction almost; he was smiling. He was probably only truly happy in his dreams.

She wished she shared the same characteristic.

The clock on Shadow's nightstand read 3:50 A.M. Wait, why was she in his room again? Oh, yes, because she didn't want to be alone in that guest room that he so kindly gave her. She was afraid the nightmares would come to her. She was afraid that she would be stuck in that room, with no one there to help her, no one there to hold her through the night. The nightmares still came to her. But at least she wasn't alone.

She lay back down on the bed, scooting closer to her current guardian, seeking his comfort. This kind hedgehog, she admired him, she looked up to him, and she counted on him.

So why was he the Master in her dreams?

****

**XXXXX**

Rouge had refused to tell Shadow the dream, no, the nightmare, she had. He had heard her stir in the middle of the night, but decided not to question her until the morning came. All she said was that it was a bad dream, and nothing more. He pestered and pressed, but she didn't spill. For a slave, she was persistent.

The reason she didn't tell him wasn't for the reason you would think. She wanted nothing more than to spill, to tell him everything. Not just the dream, but everything else she was hiding from him. Oh, how she wanted him to know everything. Everything. She wouldn't have to carry the world on her shoulders if he knew. If he shared in her pain, her fear, her secrets.

But she couldn't do that, not now anyway. He wasn't supposed to be in the dream. He wasn't supposed to be here. He wasn't supposed to find her in that alley, bring her here, take care of her, and promise to do such until she didn't need his help anymore. He was just making everything more complicated, just making her situation worse. Everything was becoming too much for her. But she couldn't tell him. Not now.

Two days had passed, since she was brought here and since she had that dream. During that time she continued to have the same dreams. In the sense of "down – to – the – wire" speaking, they were different from each other in details, ranging from different kinds of tortures. Sometimes she stayed awake throughout the whole torture, not having the pleasure of passing out halfway through it. Other times he ended up killing her in the end. But it was always him, laughing menacingly at her, torturing her, causing her more and more pain with every new dream she had. And when she would wake up, he would be awake too, asking her what was wrong, but never getting an answer. To see this hedgehog so torturous and evil in her dreams, then to see him so caring and concerned in reality…

She couldn't take it.

**XXXXX**

With the exception of the nightmares, everything else during those two days went more smoothly than Shadow thought they would have. The only downside was having to take the whole week off of work for Rouge. She literally started bawling when he told her he had to work. She cried and cried, begging him not to go, saying she would do anything for him, if it meant he would stay. He finally told her that he would take the whole week off, but the week after, she wouldn't be so lucky. After racking his brain trying to figure out what smart excuse he would give his boss, he finally gave up and told him he had a bad case of the flu. Shadow knew he couldn't tell him what the real reason was for taking the week off. It would just add more nonsense into this whole mess he created.

Anyway, the good thing that happened was completely unexpected. True, Rouge had refused to tell him her dream, and the things he already knew she was hiding from him. But that didn't mean she couldn't tell him everything before that.

He didn't know why she did. She had been silent, only mentioning what she thought was okay to say. But for some reason she told him. Of course, this sparked interest in Shadow, who was starved for any information from her. Even if it wasn't the information he needed.

She way and the time she told him this was so odd. It occurred when Shadow noticed her staring at the same picture of Maria on his nightstand. She told him she liked looking at it, since she never saw an actual human before. She only learned and heard about them. So Shadow told her more about Maria, but still keeping his limits. He told her about Maria's family, her grandfather and Shadow's creator Gerald Robotnik, and all of the friends she had on ARK. Rouge listened intently and hung onto every word he said, as if he was telling her some amazing story. Shadow didn't understand why she would be so interested in this. It wasn't until he finished his story that he found out.

"…She was like a sister to me." He told her.

"Sir, you mentioned before that she was like a sister to you. How can a human become as close to you as family would?" Her words were so powerful Shadow thought for a split second that someone was feeding her the questions. She wasn't stupid. She only pretended to be, it seems. "Well," Shadow started, "Anyone can have a relationship with you that reflects that of a sister. It doesn't matter if they are your blood family or not. Anyone, or anything, can mean a lot to you."

"Oh." She said, and for once it looked like she actually understood the black hedgehog. "Well, I would never understand that feeling then." She said this with no further explanation. What did she mean? …I would never understand that feeling then. Shadow was so intrigued by this one sentence, he decided to pursue it. "What do you mean you would never know what that felt like? Haven't you had any friends or family that meant a lot to you?"

The next thing she said was said so dismally, so bluntly, and so sadly, it made Shadow's skin crawl.

"No."

"You mean you never had any family? Or friends?" He asked her. "No. No one." He looked at her with expecting eyes, and she knew he wanted more information. She decided it would be safe to tell him this much, up until the part she knew he couldn't know. But this much she could say. This much wouldn't get her in trouble.

"I never even knew my family," she began. "I know, it sounds impossible, but it's true. My father died before I was born. I don't know how he did, and no one ever bothered to tell me. My mother died giving birth to me, and I didn't have any other known family, so I lived in an orphanage until I turned seven. Then I was sold to a Slavehouse, where I remained ever since. I didn't have any friends there; no one ever even talked to me. My life was hell in there. And it still is."

That was the most that she had said to him since she came here, without crying or even calling him Sir. He was amazed by her words, still hanging on them. No wonder she acted like this. She never had anyone to be her "Maria", like Shadow did. No one ever talked to her, no one ever befriended her. She didn't have a friend in the world. Not even a family to love her. How did she manage to find a Master?

She didn't say anything else after that. Instead she sat there quietly, thinking over what she just told him. Shadow meanwhile was thinking over how he was going to make her spill the rest of this story. He knew this wasn't all of it; there had to be more. And she purposely cut her story short so he wouldn't know it. How long could she keep this little act up?

By the way she bursted into tears, Shadow knew that apparently it couldn't be too long.

**XXXXX**

************************

**Short chapter, I know, but chapter 9 may not be up for a while, because I'm currently very busy. So I wanted to leave you guys with something. By the way, how was my first torture scene? If anything was wrong with it, don't hesitate to say so, please. :) **


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 Trust**

One time, when Shadow was a young kid on ARK, as was Maria, the two were playing together, running around the winding halls, trying to catch each other in a game of tag. Amidst their playing, Maria stopped running, and started coughing terribly, holding her stomach with a pained look on her face. Shadow was running in front of her and didn't notice she stopped until he heard the loud coughing. He stopped and ran back to her, and asked what was wrong. He never saw anyone do something like that before; she was acting very strange to him. Because of her obsessive coughing, she couldn't tell him, so he went to get her grandfather. Shadow had thought that, since Maria was acting so odd and in such pain, she was dying. This was what he told Gerald, who immediately ran to his granddaughter's side, seen she was only coughing, not dying, and scolded Shadow for scaring him like that. He took Maria to her room and gave her medicine and told the hedgehog he couldn't play with her for a couple of days, because she had caught a cold. But Shadow didn't understand him. He didn't know what 'sickness' was or what a cold was. No one had taught him that somebody could feel pain, yet not be dying. If he had known, he wouldn't have overreacted like that. He would have known what to do for her, help her.

This was what Shadow felt like now. Helpless, useless, not knowing what to do for this girl. He tried helping this girl, in any way he knew possible, but obviously it wasn't enough.

Shadow has seen this girl cry numerous times. That much was true. Sometimes she cried softly and slowly as if she didn't want him to know she was crying. Other times she would start bawling and whining hysterically. And he even counted that one time when she thought he was going to drown her and she screamed and begged and put the waterworks on high. Rouge had many different crying styles, all unique, all powerful, all effective. Shadow had thought that by now he had seen all of them. He did. But _how _she cried wasn't nearly as important enough as _why_ she cried.

He went down the list of what he already knew. She cried when she first saw him, right after she woke up. She cried when she thought that _he_ was her previous Master. When he gave her a bath, when he gave her breakfast x2, a few times during the past two days for things she did she thought he would punish her for. And right now. But what made this time different from every other time was the fact that he knew what she was crying about before. But now, he had no clue. She wasn't bawling, really, but her eyes turned into pools of water that leaked profusely onto her cheeks. She held herself in that fetal position sort of way that she always resorted to whenever she cried, and she kept her head down, causing the tears to flow in a steady, non-stop stream. Shadow didn't know whether he should ask her what made her upset or just leave her alone for a while until she composed herself. So, he did neither. Instead he ran to the bathroom in his room and grabbed some tissues. He sat back down on the bed and helped her wipe the tears off and clean her stained face. He didn't say anything, he didn't instigate. He went as gentle as he possibly could, holding her close to let her know she wouldn't get in trouble for crying for the millionth time in three days. It took a total of about twenty minutes to finally get her to stop crying. But now she just sat there looking down at the floor, still holding herself, swallowing hard. At least when she was crying the black hedgehog had something to work with. Now he would be forced to ask why she started crying.

He chose his words carefully, and said softly, "Do you want to tell me why you're upset?" There. He gave her a choice now. Maybe she would…

"No, Sir."

Well, it was worth a shot.

Shadow sighed heavily and started balling up the used tissues (he would have to make at least ten round trips before he managed to get them all) and as he stood from the bed he heard a low voice say:

"Because I don't know why I'm crying."

He looked back at Rouge; her posture didn't change in the slightest. But he knew she said it. He sat back down next to her dropping the tissues on the bed, and decided to wait for her to respond. It took her seven minutes to get the hint.

"What I mean Sir is that, I don't know what I'm upset about…" He looked at her with disbelief in his eyes. Of course she knows what she's upset about; she just didn't want to say it. Shadow shouldn't be surprised, really. This wasn't anything new.

Shadow stayed on the bed for a little while longer, but after realizing that she wasn't going to say any more, he sprung up off of the bed, balling his hands into fists, the knuckles turning white. "Well, I'm glad you gave me that thorough insight as to why you're upset," he said sarcastically. Angrily he grabbed as many tissues as he could, carelessly letting a handful fall from his grasp, and walked toward the bathroom again. And again, he was stopped. "Sir, I-" Shadow ignored her, continuing his trek to the bathroom to discard the tissues. He walked back to the bed, stabbing the floor with every step he took, and grabbed another handful, ignoring the ones that fell and ignoring Rouge.

Quickly noticing his sudden change of mood and anger toward her, she tried to think of something to say, something that might explain why she started to cry. But even she didn't know why she was crying, and she told him that, and it wasn't good enough for him. Why was she upset? What was this hidden pain inside her that forced tears into her eyes and make her whole body shake with fear? There was no reason for her to be afraid. Shadow had promised to take care of her for now. He told her that he would do so until she was well enough to go back to the Slavehouse. It was a simple plan, and it couldn't fail. Besides, it was what she wanted. It was the best thing for her.

Once the tissues were thrown out, Shadow stayed in the bathroom with his hands on the sink, trying to pull himself together. _Don't get mad, don't get mad. _Right now, all he wanted to do was punch this girl in the face, which would be ludicrous. But what else could he do? Every time he tried to get an answer out of this girl, or try to have a simple conversation with her, she would cry. Cry, cry, cry. He took deep breaths, trying to calm himself. Three days with this girl, and yet he knew only 10% more about her than he did the first day. He knew he should be happy she told him anything at all, but most of it wasn't helpful. Interesting, but not helpful in this case.

"Sir?" A voice came from the other room. _Jesus Christ… I can't keep doing this_.

Shadow walked back to the bedroom, his demeanor not as hostile as when he left, and sat back down on the bed next to the depressed bat. She scooted a bit away from him, out of apprehension, of course, and folded her hands in her lap before saying, "Please don't be mad at me, Sir. But, really, I don't know why I'm upset…" Tears started to well up in her eyes again. Shadow could tell she wanted to say more, but she didn't for a while. Maybe because she didn't know what to say, or because she didn't know if she could say it, but she remained silent.

And the she wailed.

"Oh, who am I kidding? You have every right to be mad at me, every right to hate me! I'm just a bad slave, who shouldn't even be alive! Everything would be better off if I were dead!"

Shadow quickly tried to think of some reassurance, anything, because now she was bawling. "No, Rouge, I don't hate you, and I don't think you're bad either! You're not bad, you're just… confused." Confused? Why that word? Well, it was better than _crazy._But she didn't let up. "No! I am bad! I ruined everyone lives! I ruined yours, and I ruined…" She bit her tongue, and as a segue from that little piece of info she botched, she grabbed onto Shadow tightly and screamed, "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have been in that alley! I shouldn't be alive at all! If you want to take me back to the Slavehouse now you can! You can do whatever you want to me! I don't deserve your kindness, I don't deserve anything from you!"

"Enough!" Shadow screamed at her, hoping she would stop her whining. She did, but she kept her grip on him. Shadow pulled her off of him slightly, but held her shoulders. He said slowly, "Now look; I'm gonna say this to you nicely but strictly. Don't think I'm mad at you in anyway, because I'm not. I want you to stop thinking like that-" "But I-" He put a finger to her lips, and continued, "Hush, just listen to me. I don't want you to think that you're bad or useless or anything, okay? It won't help either of us. Also, I don't want you to think that you ruined my life, because you certainly did not. Believe me, my life was pathetic and boring before you came into it. Anyway, I don't care about any of that, and neither should you. You're not bad; you're very, very good in many ways. And you do deserve my kindness, you do. Because obviously someone has hurt you real bad. Yes, I know. And I only want to help you. That's all. I only want to know what happened to you…"

He stopped where he was in his speech, and waited for her to respond. Half of him regretted saying this so soon, especially whilst she was in this condition. But, honestly, he didn't know what else he could do. She would've went off about how horrible she was and how she shouldn't be alive, and it hurt Shadow to hear her say things like that. This was really the only thing he could do at this point. Hopefully, she would act rational.

"But I already told you, Sir, I don't remember what happened to me…"

"Well, how about we start somewhere else then?"

"What should we do?"

"How about we drop that lie you've been telling me, hm?"

**XXXXX**

Shadow almost found himself smiling when he saw her eyes grow big. Now they both knew that she was telling a lie. Shadow had planned for this to happen later on, when she was ready to tell him. Perhaps when they got to know each other better, and there was less tension between them, unlike now. But Shadow knew that if he ever wanted her to spill, it was now or never. At least now the lie was broken, even if she refused to believe it. She couldn't excuse the fact that he knew, and that he wanted her to know he knew. It was confusing, it was risky, and it was dangerous.

But would it work?

She stared at the black hedgehog for a long time. If he knew this much, what else did he know? How did he find out, anyway? Her lie wasn't perfect, she knew this, but she thought he would believe it. It was all she could think of. She didn't want to tell him the truth, so she made up a lie she regretted telling the minute it left her lips. And it didn't even work.

"H-how…when did you…," she started to say. Shadow could tell she was scared, more of her lie being broke then of him knowing it. She started to move away from him, her body tensing as it got ready to jump off of the bed and run, but Shadow sensed this and quickly grabbed onto her before she had the chance.

"No! Don't leave, please, I'm not mad! And I'll explain everything, alright? Just stay still!"

But she didn't believe him. She didn't want to believe him. "No! I don't… I can't, please, just leave me alone…"

Shadow didn't know how, but he managed to calm her down enough so she would stay on the bed with him. She was unbelievably afraid of Shadow now, and at times she tried to wriggle out of his grip, but Shadow was much stronger than her and easily held onto her. He assumed that it would be good to get out of his room. He didn't know why he came to this conclusion, but he figured that it wasn't helping him any, so he picked the crying bat up bridal style and carried her to the only room he thought more comfortable and suitable.

The kitchen.

He sat her down on the wooden chair carefully and grabbed a cup of water and gave it to her. She didn't drink it. He sat down himself with his own glass and just stared at her, waiting for something to occur. He refilled his glass about 7 times before he gave up and broke the ice himself.

"Yes, I know you've been lying to me. But I'm not mad. Hear me? I'm not mad at you! Please, believe me; it will make this a lot easier if you accept that I know what you have been trying to do. But I'm not mad." He could say the last sentence a billion times and to her it would be meaningless. But at least he managed to get it off of his chest. Now, it was her turn.

"You, you aren't mad?"

"No, of course not. But I will be if you don't explain to me why you lied in the first place."

When she looked back up at him, her eyes had a new layer of wetness on them. But they also had something else on them.

Thankfulness.

It was easy to detect. Her aqua eyes shined with it. Was she starting to believe him now? Would she forgo this defiant act?

As Shadow happily found out, she was.

"I…I want to tell you, Sir-"

"And don't call me Sir, anymore. I think that its only worsening our ambitions."

" Um…okay… but…"

He interrupted her. "Good. Maybe then we could finally work this whole mess out. So, are you ready to tell me?"

"But I don't know what to tell you."

She's right. Shadow had told her he knew she was lying, but he didn't specify everything he knew. "Well, how about I tell you what I already know about you then?"

She thought about it. "I guess that could work…"

"Alright, this is all that I know: you've been lying to me since you woke up that first day. You say you forgot what happened to you, and why you were in that alley, but I believe you're just afraid to tell me. Also, when we were eating breakfast a couple days ago and you told me something about your previous Master. Before I continue, can I ask you something out of curiosity? Did you really accidentally tell me you had a previous Master, or did you mean to do that? Because it obviously goes against your lie."

A small smile crept onto her lips. "I hoped you would have noticed that…"

"Good, because I did. And after that, you had those nightmares. Were they about your former Master? The one you don't want to tell me about?"

Rouge knew that she couldn't say who was really in them. But she was smart enough to know that her Master took the form of Shadow. It was supposed to be her Master, but it looked nothing like him. That was the only difference. The way he acted and his voice when he spoke was exactly the same. But even with those characteristics, she could not ignore the fact that it looked like him. It made the nightmares much worse.

"Yes, they were about him. All of them. And I do want to tell you about him, I do, but… I don't know how…," she trailed off.

The black hedgehog could tell this was upsetting her. It was new and different to her, but he promised he would help her through it. Any information, any at all concerning her lie would make things simpler.

"Here, I'll help you. How about you start at the beginning?"

"The beginning of what?"

"One of the first things your Master has done to you? What did he do to you to make you like this?"

"I can't say."

"Why not?" _No, don't do this again… we were so close…_

Before Shadow had time to object more, Rouge said, "Because it wasn't only one thing. It happened so many times. And I remember all of them. Every single one… but I don't want to tell you…"

"What? You were just saying how-"

"-I mean, I _do _want to tell you, but I know I'll get in trouble if I do. If anyone knows about this, if you tell anyone-"

"I promise I won't tell a soul, I swear to God, no one will know of this, I promise!"

"Yes, but…" It wasn't good enough, Shadow could see. She would be fine with telling him, but she was afraid he would tell someone else. Technically, Shadow was planning to tell others about this, which consisted mainly of the police if need be. Now, that might not be an option. Shadow wanted nothing more than for her to explain herself, to get that little bit of information she has been dodging since he brought her here. He was willing to go great distances for it, to do anything at all for her. Hasn't he done enough already? He thought back to when he first brought her here, and dug up everything in his mind until the memories ended at this moment right here. Of all of the things he has done, all of the things he sacrificed, all of his morals that he threw out the window for her, yet she didn't trust him. The constant promises, the pacts he created, the begging he went through for her, the blood and sweat it took to take care of her for the past 3 days, and she still didn't trust him. Was it only a matter of trusting the other person? Or was it more? Maybe Shadow was really as shallow as others made him believe? But why wouldn't she trust him? Why?

And then it hit him. Why _should_ she trust him? It may look like a great deal of things he did for her, but at the end of the day, Shadow was just some stranger who took this girl in and said she could live here. Nothing more. Shadow knew that if the roles were reversed, he would feel the same way Rouge does now. Wanting to tell him, but not trusting that she could. This was what she was talking about, and it took Shadow so long to see it. He was just some guy, who could literally do anything he wanted to her, and no one would have a say about it. Because no one would know about it. As long as no one knows, then no one can care about it. It was no wonder she was hesitating to trust him. Shadow would do the same; anyone would do the same. A complete stranger who claims you can trust him, but who has no connection to you. Shadow was used to not having strong connections with people, and in most cases not any connection at all, but Rouge wasn't. She was always either owned or rented out until she was owned. Nonetheless, she always had some connection with whoever was her superior at the time. Master to slave, Slavehouse-owner to slave, orphanage-owner to slave. But there was nothing with Shadow. "Sir" didn't count, because it was halfway between a Master and nothing. "Tenant" didn't count either, because it produced the same outcome as "Sir." Technically, "Sir" was only used when a slave met someone who wasn't either a Master to them or another slave to them. It wasn't used for people the slave lived with, which was what Shadow was exampling right now. Of course, there were exceptions. But living with Shadow wasn't one of them.

"Sir, I-"

Shadow had to interrupt her, before his mind changed itself. "I already told you, don't call me Sir."

She managed to get the words out before he said anything else. "But if I can't call you Sir, and I can't call you by your name, what can I call you?"

Shadow mentally kicked himself for this. If he wanted her to trust him wholeheartedly, it was all he could do.

"You know what? You can call me Master."

**XXXXX**

**Ooooh, cliffhanger! Do you think Rouge will trust him, now that he says she can call him Master? Or will there still be tension between the two? Please Review! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 Truths**

Making the call to the Slavehouse was, as Shadow concluded, harder than trying to remember his past. He never, not once in his life, ever had to make a call to them before, and he wasn't planning to do so until the time came where it was mandatory. Evidently, the time was now. But the call was simple, at least. Tedious, no doubt about it, but simple. SH's (Slavehouse's) received regular calls from Masters who wished to buy slaves that weren't in an SH to begin with. For instance, if a friend had a slave that he was giving up, another Master could purchase it and the exchange could easily take place over the phone instead of having to go the SH in person. As sick as that may sound, it happened all the time in Mobius.

Perhaps the call would've been easier, that is, if the person on the other end wasn't playing 20 questions with Shadow. Name of the slave, gender, blood type, age, is she a virgin, what kind of animal is she, who was her previous Master- this question, of course, Shadow had to skip- how did you obtain her, is she tamed, does she need to be tamed… so many questions, and Shadow had to lie on almost all of them. Not so much because he didn't know, but because he didn't want the guy on the phone to know. Since Rouge made a huge fuss over _him_ knowing what really happened to her, Shadow didn't want to take any chances with anyone else. In the end, the SH owner told Shadow that there was no record at all on this girl. This might have been true, but Shadow didn't want to believe it. Despite giving her actual name, with almost everything else as false information, her file could've easily been at another SH. Shadow didn't ask which one she came from; he didn't deem it as necessary.

She probably would've lied about that too, anyway.

After another gruesome session of 20 questions, this time about Shadow's information, which he also lied about, the papers were completed and Rouge was his. He should be happy, really. He did need one; he only had a month left before he would be forced to obtain one. Better to get it over with now, he supposed. After he hung up the phone, he felt something brush along his rear, and he was about to turn around when he noticed that his newly bought property was standing right behind him. RIGHT behind him, with his tail buried in a very intimate spot on her body, her breasts bumping against his back. He was so involved in the phone he didn't notice she was practically humping his back, and he grabbed her shoulders as he walked her back to the kitchen table.

She sat down, and donned a confused look as she asked, "Why did you do that?"

He answered her question with another question. "Do you even know what I just did?"

At first she looked at him with a 'what, am I stupid?' look, but then it went right back to confusion. She said, "Well, yeah… I know what you did…"

"What did I do then?"

"You bought me. Right? Isn't that what you did?"

A smile crept on his lips, but it didn't signal that he was happy or satisfied from what he did. "Yeah, that's what I did…"

Her confused look turned into bubbliness (yeah I know it isn't a word…) as she smiled and said, "Oh, that's what I thought. But why did you do that? And why did you ask me if I knew what you did?"

If you wanted the truth, the only reason Shadow asked her was to waste time. The last thing on earth he wanted was someone calling his Master, and he knew this would be the case from now on. His stomach turned when he thought about it. So far, she hasn't said it. But Shadow knew it was only a matter of time before-

"Master? Are you okay?"

…only a matter of time before she did_._

He shook his head and said, "Yeah, I'll be fine. Don't worry about it now."

She smiled. "Oh, okay. But you never answered my other question."

"What other question?"

A serious look played out on her face. Shadow could tell she really wanted an answer from him this time. "Why did you buy me, Master?"

Shadow was done beating around the bush now. He figured the best thing he could do would be to tell her and get it done with. "I bought you… because I want you to trust me. I think the reason you and I got off on the wrong foot and have been bumping heads now and then is because we're so different. Technically, we have nothing in common. I'm just some stranger that took you in, and your just some girl who has a thousand problems and yet no one to tell them all to. I want to be that person. I want to be someone you can trust, whom you can talk to and not be afraid of."

"So, by buying me… we might be able to trust each other better?"

The black hedgehog sighed. "I hope so."

Rouge contemplated his words. "Do you still want me to tell you the truth?"

His hopes soared. "Yes! Of course you can tell me… if you want to."

"I do, believe me I do, Master…I'm just afraid…"

"Afraid of what? Afraid that I may tell someone?"

"Well, that's part of it…"

"Rouge, I already told you, I won't tell anyone else, alright? I promise. What are you really afraid of then?"

She shook her head. "Never mind. I'll tell you what really happened… but can we do it somewhere else?"

"Sure. How about we talk in my room, huh?"

"Okay."

Shadow stood and opted to take her hand, but she clung onto his entire being tightly. Shadow knew that, since he legally owned her now, he could tell her to get off of him and hold his hand instead. But he didn't want to. Ordering this girl around and telling her what to do, and her not having a say about anything, was appalling to him. The whole system was appalling to him, and everyone involved in it should burn in hell for what they did to this planet. Nonetheless, this girl was his now, and even though he had the power to control her, it took everything he was made of to not do so. So the hedgehog let her hug him as they walked to his room.

Besides, he liked having her close to him.

**XXXXX **

Rouge's suggestion of going into his room was not arbitrary. The minute they walked in and Shadow closed the door, she literally dragged him to his bed and plopped down on it, and tugged on Shadow until he fell down next to her. She wrapped her arms around him, and he wrapped his around her, holding her close. Her demeanor resembled that of a child, who wanted nothing more than the consolation of a parent. Shadow never dealt with someone who was in this kind of condition; it was always he who sought comfort from others when he was younger, and when he grew up he ostracized himself from anyone else's kindness, and vice versa. These last few days, with comforting this girl and keeping her close to him, was the only bit of kindness he let leak out of him in years. If she was this upset now, and she didn't even begin her story, what would she be like after?

"You okay?"

She nodded, resting her head against the white fluff on his chest. "Yes I'm okay, Master. I just hate thinking about it."

"Thinking about what?"

Her aqua eyes met his burning red ones. "Master, what I'm about to tell you… you don't know how hard it is to say all of this…"

"Rouge, just take your time; you don't need to rush or anything. I'll stay here and hold you if you want me to, if it makes this any easier for you. Just start off slowly. And just so you know, no matter what you tell me, I won't think any different of you. I won't be mad at you, and I won't reprimand you for anything you might say."

Truthfully, this made her feel somewhat better, as she loosened her iron grip on the hedgehog next to her. But anyone could tell this wasn't easy for her. "Thanks," she told him. "That makes things a little easier…"

They were quiet for several minutes after that. Shadow knew that, ultimately, patience was the only thing that could help him and this girl out now. Patience that he didn't have. But he sucked it up and waited for Rouge to reply. This was difficult for her, he knew that. He wanted nothing more than to make this easier for both of them. But there was nothing he could do. Not now, anyway. This was Rouge, all Rouge. It was her story, her lies, her truths, her past. Shadow was just the microphone standing on the stage. Rouge was the one giving the speech. He could see the obvious fear in her eyes, the way they shifted back and forth, sometimes closed tightly for the longest time, and just when you think they were possibly glued shut, they open, revealing either blue orbs or tears that flooded the blue orbs. At some time in between the silence, she started shaking, the way she did when he found her in the corner of his living room the first day he brought her here. How things have changed since then, in a matter of only three days. He tried to hold her close, tried to say comforting things to her softly, but in the end he found himself repeating his words. He wasn't good at this. During the first few days of settling her in, he didn't need to constantly tell her the things he was saying now. A simple 'there, there,' and 'it'll be okay,' had easily sufficed. But now, this was completely new to him.

"Before I start, can I say something first?"

"Of course," he said.

She swallowed hard. "I'm sorry I lied to you about what really happened. As you already know, I'm not good at lying. But-"

"Rouge, don't worry about that now. I'm not mad at you because you lied."

"Yes I know that, but…"

"But what?" This wasn't good. He didn't want her to think that her lie makes any difference in this. "The only thing that matters to me now is what the truth is. I don't care that you lied."

"Master… please, I know. And I'm glad you aren't mad. But I'm just trying to tell you that… once I tell you what really happened to me…"

"What?"

Her eyes turned serious, and for a split second Shadow almost felt the urge to run out of the room.

"…you'll know why I had to lie to you."

**XXXXX**

Her story started off somewhere in between grim, terrible, and extremely depressing. It was choppy and long, especially when you considered how conscientiously she kept it a secret. She didn't know where to start it off, and asking Shadow for help didn't get her anywhere. So, she jumped into the story and told the hedgehog she would explain anything he didn't understand when she was finished.

Shadow knew that there was a good reason she warned him about whatever he might misunderstand.

"I didn't escape from a SH, and I didn't forget what really happened to me," she began. She said this as if she was explaining the U.S. Constitution. It left Shadow briefly wondering if he should break out a notebook and pen and start taking notes on it.

"Um, should I start by explaining why I was in that alley?"

"Start wherever you want," Shadow told her.

"Well, the reason I was in the alley is because I ran away. From my Master. He didn't know I left…"

What Shadow eventually wanted (needed) to know was who that "Master" was. If she had the urge to run away from him, and got away with doing so, he strongly doubted that whoever he turned out to be, he wasn't the kind of guy you could sit down and have a coffee with.

So instead of asking who he was, he asked Rouge why she ran away.

"It's kind of complicating. I can't say it was because things didn't work out, or because he didn't want me anymore." Tears started to form in her eyes (Shadow swore that he would have to get this girls leakage fixed when things were settled), but she remained strong and continued. "I spent so long trying to forget everything, trying to push it behind me and act like it didn't happen. Because I knew I couldn't always live in the past."

_I know how that feels, _Shadow thought. "And I guess I'm just bringing all those bad memories back, aren't I?"

She nodded. "But don't worry; I'm still going to tell you. I know how bad you want to know the truth. And you have every right to."

The hedgehog went speechless. This girl was not, in any way, as stupid as she made out to be.

She smiled briefly, and then went back to the expressionless look on her face that she picked up when she started her story.

"I ran away because I loved him."

As if in a cartoon, Shadow choked on his own spit when he heard this. "What do you mean?"

"I loved him. I had ever since he bought me. But I don't anymore. There's no way I could anymore." She looked at Shadow, who, of course, didn't understand jack crap of what she just said.

"He bought me when I was 8, and he was the only Master I ever had. Well, until you."

"Before you continue, I just have to ask you one thing: how old are you?" When he was on the phone with the SH owner, he lied about her age. In fact, he didn't even remember what number he gave, since he never asked her how old she actually was.

"18, Master. Did I not tell you that?" He shook his head. "Oh, I'm sorry. But yeah, he had me for 10 years. At first it was okay, normal even. He was very nice to me, and took care of me and everything…"

"Then what happened?" He was holding her so close that he was able to feel her heart beat. It was racing.

"Up until I turned 10, it was only him and I, and we were pretty happy together. I really liked him, and I thought that he felt the same way about me. But then… that happiness that almost became second nature to me died… and everything went bad."

"God, by the way you're saying it you make it seem like hell came onto earth…"

"It did, but not 'on earth.' My life turned into a living hell."

"What happened? What did he do?"

It took her a long time to say this part, but she managed to get it out.

"His lover came to live with him." She looked up at him with sad eyes. "And I became nothing to him. I turned into an object, just something that he could either hurt or fuck. But most of the time he did both. His lover was all that he cared about then."

"I'm sorry that happened to you… it sounds horrible. I know how you feel."

He felt her body tense up, her muscles tighten. She let go of his body completely and sat on her knees so she was the same height as the hedgehog. Her expressionless face turned into one of anger. "NO! You have no right to say that! It wasn't just 'horrible!' It was one of the worst things that ever happened to me!"

"Look, Rouge, don't get so hostile, I-"

"And you don't know how it feels! You have no fucking idea how it feels!"

"YES I DO!" he screamed into her tear-stained face, disregarding how badly his risen voice affected her. "I do know how it feels! Maybe not exactly, because I was never in that kind of situation before, but I know how badly you were hurt! Rouge, I was only trying to sympathize with how you felt, but God forbid I try and compare my sad little life to your grand one!"

That little speech hurt. Shadow knew that it hurt her by the way her face softened and the tears started flowing again. She got off her knees and sat back on her rear, leaning against the head board of the bed, not risking getting close to Shadow. He sighed, and leaned against the same head board with her, pulling her close to him. She tried to refuse, but she gave up and eagerly cuddled closer to him. He felt her tears on his chest.

"I-I'm sorry, Master. Please don't be mad at me because I snapped at you. I didn't mean to. I just don't know what came over me… but I'm sorry."

"Don't sweat it, I'm sorry too. And you're right; I don't have any right comparing my life to yours. I don't know how bad things were for you. I guess you and I will always be somewhat different."

After a few minutes she asked, "Can I continue?"

"Of course."

"Okay, um, where was I? Oh yes, his lover… They spent a lot of time together, and I was completely forgotten. He didn't take care of me like he used to. He forgot to feed me, forgot to wash me, forgot to buy me new clothes, or take me to the doctor, or anything! I thought for sure that he would get rid of me, but he didn't. After about a year of being totally ignored, he suddenly 'remembered' about me. And that was when things really turned bad. He saw me as a nuisance, and beat me and yelled at me for no reason. His boyfriend hated me too, even more than my Master did. Both of them would torture me and humiliate me, every day. And everything after that turned… blurry. And surreal."

"What did they do?" Shadow asked.

"They started giving me drugs. I was about 11 when they started to. At first, I didn't know what they were. They lied to me and said they would make me feel better. Of course, they did, but after a while I started to get sick; real sick, and they didn't take me to the doctor. Instead, they gave me more drugs. I still didn't know what the little pills and needles actually were, until one day when I was 12. They were out working, and I was home alone. I remember it pretty clearly. Usually, I wasn't allowed in my Master's room without his permission, but I went in anyway. I looked through his drawers and looked all around the room until I found the drugs they used on me. There were used needles and pills and bags of powdery stuff, the latter of which they didn't use on me yet. The pills were colorful and some had little initials on them. I kept wondering why he gave these to me, forced me to take them even when I was sick. So, not knowing what else to do, I looked up 'pills' and 'powders' on the laptop he had in his room. I know it sounds silly, but I didn't know what else to look up. After a while of searching, I found pictures of pills that looked like the ones I took. I also found pictures of white powders in little bags."

"And that's when you found out they were drugs?"

"Yes," she replied. "I looked up the names of the things I found. A lot f them I don't remember, but some were called PCP, Extacy, some things like that. They were categorized as 'illegal drugs,' so I knew they were bad things to take."

"So then what happened after you found out what they really were?"

"Well, nothing really. I mean, I couldn't confront him about it, or else things would've been much worse then. Luckily, he stopped giving them to me right before I turned 13. I'm not sure why he did. I always think that it was because he wanted to overdose me, but when the drugs didn't work, he gave up and tried other things."

Shadow asked, "What were those other things?"

She looked up at him again, and tried to scoot closer to him. "Well, they were much worse than what any little pill could do."

She continued, "He started doing these horrible things to me. Both of them. Before, I told you that they would beat me, right? Well, now, they would torture me, in ways you can't even begin to fathom. They would rape me, strangle me, beat me until I lost consciousness, and… a lot of… other things… Please don't make me explain them."

By the way she was crying and shaking, Shadow knew that whatever she was keeping a secret she kept a secret for a good reason. "Don't worry, I won't make you say them. I understand what happened. They really did all of that stuff to you?" She nodded, burying her face in his chest, as if she was reliving a bad moment. Shadow sighed. "Rouge, you do know that what they were doing was illegal, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. And so did them. But they didn't care."

"Rouge, you should've told someone," he said, and immediately regretted saying it. He knew what she was going to say next.

"But, Master, there was no one I could tell! And even if I did tell someone, they wouldn't have believed me. I didn't have a choice." Now Shadow understood. He understood exactly what Rouge was talking about. But he knew he couldn't jump to his own conclusions. There was still so much information that he didn't know.

Rouge continued anyway. "So that was what I lived through for 5 years. Then, I turned 18. The two of them were still together and still treating me the same way, and things didn't change for a while. But when I turned 18, my Master got mad at me. I'm not sure why he did, but he was pissed because I had turned that old. He told me that I wasn't of any use to him anymore. He said that I was just a used toy, and he was tired of playing with me. So, knowing that he couldn't send me back to the SH, because he had me for so long, he came up with his own solution."

"What did he do?"

"He tried to kill me. Again. But this time I knew what he was doing. And this time I remember it perfectly."

"Why do you remember this one better than the other one? Is it because you were older?"

"No."

"Then why?"

"It only happened 3 days ago."

Shadow felt his heart stop. _3 days ago_. This must be the reason she was in that alley.

Reading his mind she replied, "Yes, this is why I was in that alley. My birthday was a few days ago, on Monday."

"Really? That was my birthday too."

"It was? Well, happy belated birthday then. How old are you?"

"Happy birthday to you too. I'm 18 by the way." Funny; same day and same year.

"Anyway," she continued, "When he found out that it was my birthday, he was very angry. However, I didn't know he was mad at me until it was too late. He told me that, since it was my birthday, we should play a little game. Of course, he was being sarcastic, but like a dummy I believed him, because he said it so nice and sweet. But it was anything but an innocent game, unfortunately. He took me to his room and gave me poppers and other drugs until I had almost no indication of what was going on. I was so out of it that I probably dreamt of some of the things he did to me. Anyway, he raped me and beat me and started saying these awful things about me, like how I was a waste of his time and that he never should've bought me in the first place. His lover was there too, helping him do these things to me. When they were done having their fun with me, they took me to the bathroom and started running the water in the bathtub. Remember, I was really out of everything, so I can't give exact details, but I can give you the general idea of what happened. When the water was done, they grabbed some knives and whatever else they may have had on hand and started cutting every part of my body that wasn't already damaged. Then they threw me into the tub, where the water was scalding hot, so it would burn my cuts. They left me in there to bleed to death."

_Goddamn…_ "Well, they obviously didn't get the job done."

She laughed a bit, and Shadow could easily say he was shocked to hear laughter coming out of her. Her speech wasn't exactly the humorous type. "No," she said. "They didn't. Even though I was drugged to the nines and bleeding profusely and in extreme pain, I jumped out of there when I was sure they were gone, and left through the window in the bathroom. Good thing its June and not December or else I probably would've died. I ran and ran far away from that hell until I couldn't run anymore. The drugs were getting to me and the blood-loss made me weak, so I just collapsed, and I guess I collapsed in an alley. I did see you, and I thought for sure you were one of them, but I didn't have enough strength to do anything, so I just blacked out and knew that you would probably kill me. But when I woke up in this house… well you know the rest."

Goddamn; (again). This was the most she had ever said to him, and the hedgehog predicted it was the most she would ever say to him ever again. The way she said this entire story, so freely, so truthfully, without worrying about whether or not Shadow would tell someone else. It all made sense now. The reason she wanted the bath water so cold. Why she was so afraid of him at first. Why she didn't tell him her dream. Everything had a reason now. A horrible reason. Her whole story was horrible, something Shadow wouldn't even begin to imagine.

"So," he said. "That was what you were lying about, huh?" She nodded. "Well, I can obviously see why you lied about it. But I'm also very glad you decided to tell me the truth."

"I'm sorry I lied about everything before, Master. I was just afraid that if I told you-"

"-that I would tell someone else. In other words, I would tell them."

"Yeah… and I still don't know if they know I'm gone. They probably do, and that's what I'm worried about. I fear that they'll show up one day and find me and take me. That was why I wanted you to be my Master so badly. I thought that, if you owned me, you would be able to do something. And that's why I'm glad you decided to own me now." She hugged him; and actual hug that wasn't a cover up for an iron grip on Shadow's body. "I understand," he told her. "Rouge, you should've just told me the truth before."

"I know, I know… I'm sorry…"

"Don't be," he said. "We can forget about that now, it doesn't matter. What matters now is that you're okay, and that I know the truth, because now I can actually help you. And I promise, no matter what, I won't let them take you away. I won't let them come near you, not ever."

"Really? You would do that for me?"

"Yes. But you do know that there's one thing I still need to know from you."

She looked up at him quizzically. "What's that?"

He answered, "What did they look like? Your Master and his lover?"

This got her attention; negatively. She squinted her eyes slightly, and wiped some tears off of her face. "W-why would you want to know that? What difference would it make?"

This surprised him. He backed away from her only an inch, and said, "Rouge, it would make all the difference! If I knew what they looked like-"

"-I don't want to tell you."

That one sentence made him almost snarl at her. He couldn't believe she was saying things like this. Why in the world would she not want to tell him? "Rouge, what the hell are you talking about? What do you mean you won't tell me what they look like?"

"I-I just don't want to… that's all…"

Shadow was confused more or less than he was angry at her. "That's not a reason. That's not even an answer."

"I just don't want to, okay? Please, don't make me, Master! Please!" And she started sobbing again, which signaled to Shadow that she was done talking for the day.

But Shadow still did not understand. If she was willing to tell Shadow everything she told him, why would she not tell him this? Why was she keeping this a secret from him? This contradicted all that Shadow has done for her. He actually bought her, hoping that it would ease some of the tension between them. It did; but apparently it didn't ease all of it. He thought she would be able to trust him now, and things would be better and easier. Was it all just a big mistake that he made? Did it really fix anything at all? He wanted to believe that it did, and he had the evidence to prove it. Maybe there was a reason as to why she was hiding this one detail from him? Or maybe… there was no reason at all?

**XXXXX **

**Holy Fuck! It was not my intention at all to have this chapter so long! It just kinda happened!** **Anyway, I hope you like it.**

**BTW, "Poppers" are drugs that you inhale, and they sort of have the same effect as Extacy and things like that. Some of the people that read this that aren't on FanFiction didn't know what they were, so I just decided to explain what they are in the AN. I Didn't want to take any chances with people that never heard of them.**

**As always, please review! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Writers Block is a bitch…yeah…enjoy…**

**Chapter 11 Silently Finding Ways**

The drumming of the rain on the window snapped him out of his thoughts. _Could've sworn it was sunny a minute ago… _Shadow plopped down on the couch in the living room and buried his head in his hands, trying to relieve the headache that seemingly got worse with every passing second. It didn't work. He glanced over at his clock; it was almost 7:30. He sighed; a whole day practically wasted on account of trying to smack information out of this girl, and even then he didn't get 100% of everything he needed to know.

Her story was running through his mind, every word pounding against his skull, deafening his ears. Despite not knowing what may be the most important part of information from her, that didn't mean he would totally botch everything that she_ did_ tell him. It was amazing, absolutely unbelievable. Horrible, yes, but amazing nonetheless. It explained her situation perfectly, and it answered millions of questions Shadow had as well. All except that one question…

He didn't understand it. The reason he decided to buy her in the first place was to gain trust from her. Had he just made a mistake? Was his "good deed" all for nothing? He fell down on the couch onto his back and rubbed his temples. _What the fuck am I going to do now? How the hell am I gonna convince her to tell me who her Master was? I thought I was finished with this! Things were supposed to be easier now!_

For a while he found himself contemplating whether or not he should send her back to the SH, regardless of what she told him. The only reason he kept her here was to find out her story and take care of it as best he could. In a way, he already finished his side of the bargain. But she wasn't upholding hers. Her story revealed that she had a tough life, to say the least, and that whoever her Masters were, they need to be taken to the police for the treatment they (illegally) unleashed on Rouge. She also said that there's a good chance they might be looking for her, since she ran away without them knowing. If only he knew what they looked like or had their names he could easily turn them in. But since he didn't know this, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Sending her back to the SH would be both genius and ridiculous. Genius because then she would have the advantage of a new life, be taken care of regularly, and have a chance to start over with someone else who wishes to buy her. Shadow knew that she wouldn't have a problem finding another Master; she was gorgeous and kind and luckily, was only 18, which in reality is more or less a perfect age for a slave, especially female. She probably had better 'talents' in the bedroom as well, though Shadow had yet to examine them. Nonetheless, sending her back would be a deep advantage for her.

In contrast, the idea was ridiculous for obvious reasons. Sending her back to a SH would practically ensure them finding her and buying her back. And then the whole system would start over for her, and ultimately it would be Shadow's fault. He couldn't do that. Just like when he found her in the alley bleeding to death, he couldn't find it in himself to leave her there, and live with the fact that her certain death would be his fault. There was no way he could do this to her. No way. He wouldn't be able to live with knowing that he sent her back to that hell she escaped from. Even if there was a slim chance of her finding someone else, Shadow was too apprehensive to take that chance for her. To see this girl thrown back into the torment she left from, with nothing but a wing and a prayer to save her, and to have all of the blame boomeranged right back to him…

He immediately shoved the idea out of his head and refused to let it re-enter.

His eyes were barely drooping when he heard a bang come from the other room. Immediately his mind raced to Rouge, and he sprang up and perked his ears to hear if any other noise aroused. After consoling her after she revealed her story, he allowed her to take a nap on his bed. Could something have happened that would cause a loud bang? He listened. Nothing… not a sound; only the small and insignificant bang that couldn't signify whether or not something bad happened. Slowly he laid back down on the couch, flattening his ears.

And then he heard a scream.

Before his brain had a chance to draw any conclusions on the scream, his body jumped off the couch and ran to the bedroom. He had to stop himself before he literally ran into the door, his heart racing and the screams only getting louder. He jerked at the doorknob; it was locked. _Why the hell would she lock the door? _Frustrated he yelled through the door only to receive screams of absolute horror as an answer. Finally he gave up trying to get her attention and broke the doorknob, banging the door down.

**XXXXX**

As he said before, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. An incredibly_ hard_ hard place.

And as you would've guessed, she was screaming because she had a nightmare, and now she was crying and shaking as Shadow tried to wipe her face and hold her close, hoping she would calm down. To tell the truth, he was getting sick of this. Having to run to this girl whenever a problem- usually it wouldn't even _be_ a problem- occurred and she would go into a panic attack. But he knew that he didn't have any other choice, and neither did she. It was his choice, solely his, to take this girl here and help her out. Getting rid of her now would simply be the same as a kid who received a toy they were so excited about, and then got bored of it after a few days and threw it out. No; sending her back to a SH would do nothing for neither of them.

It took her a while to calm down, but nowhere near as long as most of the times she cried because of something. All the while he sat on the bed with her and remained silent as she slowly stopped crying and composed herself again. Though his actions were kind and careful, when she stole a glimpse of his face, she saw what she would eventually figure out to be his signature 'I really don't give a fuck about anything…' look. Added to the tension she gained from her nightmare, which included him in a similar role to the one he played the first night she had a nightmare, she felt like his anger was entirely her fault. _No wonder he snaps at me at times and finds me slightly annoying sometimes…I would feel the same way if our positions were switched, _she thought.

She lowered her head and said in a tone that resembled that of a careless teenager who just got yelled at by their parents, "I'm sorry…" A new sentence formed in her mind and was about to leave her mouth, but she covered it up with a new sentence, one that would benefit Shadow more than herself. "I'm sorry I bothered you. You can leave if you want to." A pause.

"Or punish me if you want."

_Uh oh,_ Shadow thought. Were his inside thoughts appearing on his features? He wasn't exactly paying attention to the expression on his face… and above all he never wanted her to see it. Quickly he tried to think of a cover-up, but he doubted she would believe it.

"NO, no, you didn't bother me… I-I mean I don't mind… um…" Yeah, that explained it…

Even though she didn't get the full explanation she thought she would, she gave him a half-smile for his sake and wriggled out of his grasp, but remained sitting next to him. For a while they both sat there silently. It was Rouge who broke the deafening silence, asking him, "Do you want to know what my dream was about?" This surprised him. For what reason would she feel it necessary to tell him what she dreamed about? She never wanted to before; what made this time so different?

Truthfully, he didn't know how to answer her. Talking about her dream could certainly help her and make her feel better. Or it could do the total opposite and just make her feel worse. "Would that make you feel better? Telling me what you've been having nightmares about?" he asked her.

She thought about his question. "Yeah, it could, but I was only asking in case _you_ wanted to know. It shouldn't matter at all if telling you my dreams will benefit me, Master. If you want to know I'll tell you all of them."

_Well it does matter to me_, he thought. _All of her problems and bad thoughts matter to me. If only she could see that. _"No, its okay, you don't have to tell me them. Unless you really want to. But I won't hold it against you if you don't tell me." You could see the slight rejection on her face, but she quickly covered it up with an "Okay."

_Maybe I shouldn't have said that_… he thought. _Maybe I should've let her tell me about them? God I hate making decisions, especially for someone else…!_ To change the subject he asked her, "Rouge, why was the door locked? I told you to keep it open in case something happened."

"Master, I didn't lock the door… you did," she told him.

He immediately took offense. "No I didn't! Why would I lock it!"

Surprisingly, even with his voice rising considerably, she remained calm for once and replied, "Um, you must've done it without you realizing it. … Maybe?"

He looked back toward the broken door, the thick wood broken off of the hinges, the frame cracked and little chips of wood falling off. The sight was so ridiculous and cartoon-ish; he couldn't help but give out a small laugh. "Heh, yeah, maybe that was it… forget about it for now, I'll fix it later." He looked her deep in the eyes. "You sure you okay?"

She nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'll be okay, Sir- I mean Master."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me," Shadow said. "Sorry that I kinda 'sprung that on you.' I only did it because I thought it would gain some trust between the two of us. I didn't mean to do it so drastically but honestly it was the only thing I could think of to do."

"It's okay… I'm actually kind of glad that you did decide to… buy me. Thank you."

"Oh, you don't need to thank me. I'm kind of glad I bought you too. I think it really did help ease some of the tension between us." _If only it eased _all_ of the tension._

They were quiet after that. Shadow knew that the sudden quietness that sprouted between them randomly was evidence that there was still tension and even pain between them. But at least now it was easier to overcome. Somehow, sooner or later, he would have to find out the last crucial part of her past. And, of course, nothing was more fun than figuring out somebody's crazy and equally stupendous past…

Too in-depth with his thoughts, he didn't realize what she did until she did it. A sweet surprise that Shadow would've never seen coming, ever.

She hugged him.

And it was an actual hug that actually meant something. The hugs that he had learned she gave out only so rarely, if she felt like giving them. And it ended before it really began, and she returned to sitting next him, half curled into a ball, an expressionless look on her face. For a minute Shadow actually wanted it to last longer, or even receive another one, but he didn't want to risk it. He remained on the bed for a couple of minutes before he started to stand from it. And right before his body left the bed, he was gifted with another surprise:

A kiss on his lips.

**XXXXX**

**It took me hours to think up the title for this chapter, and that's not even an exaggeration. But there it is.**

As I look back on this chapter I wonder if I should re-write it. I'm not very sure about it…:/ But I guess that any worth it has is in the eye of the readers… :) 


	12. Chapter 12

**Warning: This chapter contains a lemon and sexual content / material. It isn't anything like the lemon in CH 8. It is a consensual and normal lemon, so no need to brace yourself for anything horrible. Enjoy.**

XXXXX

Chapter 12 You Came Onto Me

Perhaps the kiss might've been more enjoyable if her lips didn't have bits of skin peeling off of them due to chap-ness and they didn't taste like blood. Shadow made a mental note to buy her a Carmex or a Chapstick or whatever later on in the near future. Regardless, he couldn't say he didn't enjoy it.

However, he could say that he was confused, probably more confused than she was about it. When she kissed him he was halfway off the bed, and after her shocking little "present" he ended up sliding off the bed completely and landing on his rear. His fingers were still pressed against his own lips, as if her kiss altered them in some way. The scene was pretty humorous. But neither of them was laughing.

Though Shadow was indeed confused about the sudden events that took place, he wasn't mad. But he should be mad. It was expected of him to be angry at Rouge, since he now had every right to. Not only because she was a slave and he had complete control over her. Even if she wasn't a slave, she took advantage of her status and of him. He couldn't help but feel a little miffed.

Standing from the floor, he expected to see an already crying bat begging for him to forgive her for her transgression. But what he actually saw was nothing of the sort. She was sitting on the bed in the same place she was in the entire time they talked, her eyes big, but no tears evident in them. She didn't even look sad or confused, but tired, very tired. _Guess that nap did nothing for her. _ Even when he tentatively sat back on the bed next to her she did not stir. She didn't even say anything, but the look in her eyes assured Shadow that she knew what she did and that it was wrong. But why was she not saying anything?As the minutes passed by, Shadow began to realize that a calm Rouge was much more dangerous than a depressed and confused one. Thankfully, after a brutal 3 minutes, she finally spoke up.

"Um… I didn't mean to do that…," she told him in an effort to apologize. Shadow didn't think it was an appropriate apology, and neither did she, for she continued, "Please, I'm sorry, please don't be mad at me, its just… I was confused and…"

_I think I should be the one confused_… Shadow thought. He could see she was trying to say sorry and not burst out into tears, and she was trying pretty hard, so Shadow decided to ignore the kiss for now. It was just a simple mistake. A onetime thing.

Right?

"Don't worry about it for now," he told her. He was about to end it there, but stopped himself when a thought crossed his mind. In all retrospect, he let her off the hook a little too easy, didn't he? He was the Master in this relationship after all, wasn't he? The least _his _slave could do for him would be to tell him why she felt it necessary to kiss him.

"But, I want to know one thing." She raised her head at him expectantly. "Why did you do it?"

From the second the pronunciation on that _t_ in _it _was finished, he could see the sadness re-enter her face as she put her head down again. It was obvious she didn't want to answer the question.

"Do-do I have to say why Master?"

"Yes," Shadow said strictly, but tried to keep his voice gentle for her sake.

She sighed deeply before saying, "I really don't know why I did it."

"That's not an answer," he replied. "And you know that. Tell me the actual reason; I know you have one. People just don't kiss other people randomly."

After a while of thinking (probably for another lie she could tell him), she said, "Did you like the kiss? I thought you would like it…"

_That's not an answer either,_ he thought. He pinched the skin above his nose in frustration.

"Rouge, there's a difference between lying and not telling the truth. I don't want you to tell me there isn't a reason for what you did, because I know there is. So there's no need to lie about it. I want the truth from you. The real truth."

She said, "But if I tell you the reason why you'll get mad at me."

"No I won't," he said, as truthful as he could make it sound. "I promise I won't. Why do you think I'll be mad at you?"

"Because the last time I gave this answer you got mad."

_Ok, now we're getting off topic. Is she doing this intentionally or did it just happen? Either way, I still don't have an answer. _

She looked up at him and took in the look on his face, and said, "I'll stop beating around the bush. I'll tell you. But I'm just worried you won't like what I say. Or that you won't believe it either."

Before he had time to respond she gave her answer, "The two reasons I gave you before were true, even though they don't qualify as an actual answer. But I guess I kissed you because I wanted to make you happy; I thought it would make you happy. I was really just acting on instinct and did the one thing I thought everyone enjoyed, which was a kiss. Now that I think about it, it was the worst thing I could've done, isn't it?"

He said, "Maybe not the _worst _thing, but I could see why you did it. Truthfully, I did like it. But I don't want you to do that anymore unless I allow it, okay?"

"Okay… are you going to punish me for doing it?"

"No, of course not. I just don't want you to do that again. Otherwise there _will_ be consequences, understand?"

"Yes, Master," she answered him obediently.

It pained Shadow to have to threaten her with punishment if she slipped up again. But there had to be _some_ kind of discipline in this household, didn't there? He shoved the idea of punishment out of his mind and tried to focus on something else. He noticed that she scooted a little bit closer to him, and this time it looked like she would be staying there. He caught site of her right arm and noticed a 3 inch long wound that was still healing, as was all of her other wounds. For the past few days he had noticed her digging her fingernails into the skin around the injuries and trying hard to refrain from scratching them. Even though Shadow regularly re-bandaged them and help her clean them and simply keep an eye on their improvement, she was having a hard time dealing with the pain they brought from healing. And it wasn't the simple discomfort people get from cuts and bruises that she displayed, either. Shadow had caught her actually trying to rip her skin off. Literally. There would be long red lines painted on her arms and legs and abdomen, and fresh new blood seeping from the already abused cuts.

Noticing this, he jumped off the bed to get some ointment for the cuts. Coming back with the bottle he squeezed some into his palm and rubbed some on her skin. Like when he took care of them before, and when he always took care of them, not one second went by when he didn't think her skin would just break off from her body because it was so frail. The movements of his hands on her skin were so careful he might as well have been rubbing the cream above her arms and legs then actually on them. When a fresh batch of ointment migrated down to her right leg where a deep but pretty small cut resided, she yelped.

"Ow, ow, Master it hurts!" she told him.

"I know, but I have to put it on them. Just hold still and it'll be over soon."

For once, he was right, and he finished rubbing the last bit of it on a small cut on her neck. Leaving it on the nightstand he asked her, "Do they feel better?"

What must've been the funniest and the most truthful answer she could ever give, she said, "No, they don't." And he couldn't help but laugh. She laughed too, after realizing how stupid her response was. "But they're healing real quickly, thanks to what you've been doing for them. Thank you."

"Yeah, think nothing of it."

"But I do think something of it," she told him. "Everything you do for me means a lot. I mean, I've never known someone as nice and as kind as you, Master. You've done so much for me, and continue to do things for me. You are the most considerate and caring person I've ever met, and the only one I'll probably ever meet."

That was the first time he ever heard anyone call him such names. In all honesty, her words were a little uncouth and inappropriate, especially when you're describing a weapon of mass destruction like himself. Nonetheless, it felt good to be called something that didn't fall into the categories of "Master," "Faker," "Emo," and many others that held the same position. He was actually pretty flattered. It was such an icky feeling. But he liked it.

"And I'll never understand why you do so many things for me…"

"Rouge, I do them because I care about you; I've told you that before. Now, I know you and I aren't the – how you say "normal" – pair of Master and slave, but we can make it work. We've made it work so far. Not perfectly, but we survived. And we can survive until…"

"Until what, Master?" she asked him.

_Yes, until what Master?_ Until she told him the names of those who ruined her, until he turned them in and solved her problem, until everything, EVERYTHING, she was hiding from him was revealed, until…

He didn't want to think of the future right now, since it was so unpredictable and, truthfully, frightening. "I don't know 'until what,' so I can't answer that. But worrying about it won't help us none. Let's just deal with the present for now and worry about those things another time."

"Okay, but…what about 'them?'

He guessed that 'them' stood for the two whose names she kept a secret, and who would be looking for their runaway slave. There was no actual answer for that question either. So he gave the same one he did with her previous question. And it didn't satisfy neither of them. She closed her eyes and he felt her head rest against the fur on his chest, her muscles relaxing as if she was falling asleep. "You can go back to bed if you want. I could leave. I need to make dinner anyway." (Dinner courtesy of Kraft Mac & Cheese and two Pepsi cans. He couldn't cook a regular meal to save his life.)

"No, I'll stay up with you. I'll just wake up from another nightmare anyway."

"Do you want me to stay here with you until you fall asleep?"

His suggestion surprised her. "You would actually waste your time waiting for me to fall asleep?" He nodded, not seeing any harm with his proposal. "Wow, you must really do care about me…" She looked up at him slightly, mixed emotions present in her eyes. "I really wish there was some way I could repay you for all you've done for me."

**XXXXX**

He knew what she meant. It was the same thing she always meant when she said that one sentence. 'Thank him.' In other words, serving him; repaying him for what he's done for her. The same thing she has been itching towards the entire time she has been here. It was the last thing he wanted right now, to say the least. He didn't want this relationship between them to be based on this and built upon it, despite how eager she was to do it for him. Even though the argument of him choosing to buy her could be made, it didn't change things. No one forced him to buy her as his slave; the decision was truly his. He only did so to gain information from her. Not to enhance their roles as rich Master and poor slave. The papers may be signed and her complete being was now his property, but to act the part of dominant was much different than playing the part as such. She was in every way ready to act a slave to him, and she indeed had every right to. But he wasn't ready.

He was about to tell her to forget it, and even walk out of the room before the conversation got any worse. But instead of discarding the idea, he thought about it. How long before he would have to give in? It didn't take long to persuade him into buying her. What else would it take before he just gave up _his_ defiant act and let her behave how she truly wants to? But was this really the right thing to do? He wasn't sure. He wasn't sure about any of it. To make her do these things… act this way… seemed wrong to him. But she saw nothing wrong with it and even encouraged him to follow through. How long would it be before he would have to?

"Rouge, I, you know I don't want you to think like that."

She said, "But isn't it what you want? I mean, you went through all the trouble of buying me and making me yours. Shouldn't I be doing this for you? Because, if you don't want me to serve you and thank you like I should, than, forgive me for saying this Master but, it would seem that you bought me for no reason."

Boy, did she hit the hammer on the head. This was exactly what Shadow was talking about. "Rouge, are you sure?"

"Its not up to me. Its completely your decision."

He was afraid of that. His mind was racing with thoughts and ideas and he felt like there was an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, each trying to persuade him to make a decision. Out of impulse and complete foolishness, he resorted to the one thing Rouge had resorted to earlier, since he had no other idea of what to do.

At least this time the kiss lasted longer.

When the hedgehogs and bats lips parted they remained staring at each other deeply in the eyes. Though she was as surprised as he was when she kissed him, he could tell she enjoyed the sensual touch. _Maybe this really is what she wants… It all feels so wrong._ Still unsure of what to do, he kissed her again, still on the lips, but when he tried to pull away to breathe she wrapped her arms around him, hoping his lips would stay in place. They did for a while, until finally they parted and both were left panting, her arms hanging loosely around his body_. She's definitely ok with the idea. Even though I discourage it, it doesn't mean she should go without. If this is what she really wants to do, if she really wants to do this for me, than I should at least respect her enthusiasm. _ A small smile crept onto her lips and the loose arms around him got a bit tighter, as her body scooted closer to him. Her face spoke of desperation, and she looked at him as if awaiting a command from him._ Yes, she's okay with this. I may think its wrong now, and I still might think the same afterward, but if it'll make her happy, content even, then I should honor her suggestion._ And he pulled her into another kiss, this time wrapping his own arms around her fragile frame. He felt a tongue slide past his lips for only a moment, until he lost his uneven balance of half-holding-onto-her and half-kneeling-on-the-bed and the kiss only grew more intense as both bodies fell onto the bed, his on top of hers.

**XXXXX The actual lemon starts here so… either read on or skip, whatever you prefer, but I gotta warn you, the lemon is pretty important because it moves the story along and well… this'll be the only lemon for now until much later chapters, and God knows when those will be up. Anyway, there'll be a page break when the lemon is over, so if you read only after that and not the lemon, you should be fine. Personally, for my first ever lemon, I think its rather good. But… you can be the judge of that. Yeah… let's get back to the story.**

Trying to keep his balance on the bed rather than on her was harder than he thought it would be. They continued kissing each other passionately on the lips and cheeks and whatever else their mouths could claim. Soon enough his arms gave out and his body fell entirely onto hers. "Sorry," he told her, but she didn't seem to mind or even notice. She was too busy trying to kiss and lick every spot on his face and neck. Can kissing be that much of a turn on or was she just over-excited? It was all going too fast for Shadow. Keep in mind, as embarrassing as it seems, and is, he was still a virgin. In the technical sense, of course. He never had a girlfriend and never got lucky in bed, and the lustful touch of another person was more or less disgusting to him. Now, don't get him wrong, he wasn't new to the "sex" part of this expedition. Though he never actually had sex, he knew what to do and how to do it, and knew what the result would be. Yes, even the Ultimate Life Form has urges now and then. On an aside, Rouge was really going to town on this "sex" thing, and Shadow was debating if he should let her go this fast and get it over with soon, since a certain part of him was already getting hot and heavy. But he was also debating if he should slow her down and try to _savor_ this moment, so to speak.

Even though the first choice seemed much nicer (it would certainly get to the climax of this act, if you catch my drift), he told her, "Rouge, hold on. Just slow down a bit, all right?" She stopped her movements almost instantly, and laid her already aroused body back down on the bed, looking up at him. "I'm sorry," she said, a little too sadly. "Do you want to take over?"

In all honestly, he wasn't sure what she meant by that, so he ignored her comment for now. "Don't go so fast, just take it easy. God, you're acting crazier than Sonic when he sees a chili dog stand."

"Who's that?" she asked him.

"Never mind, just, here, let's switch places." He shifted his body so now it was underneath Rouge, and she was now lying on top of him. Her body was so skinny and small that he barely felt anything on top of him. "What do you want me to do now, Master?"

"You're asking the wrong person, girl. I was hoping you would sort of lead me in this."

"What do you mean?"

He sighed. "I really don't want to say this, but I guess it can't do any harm. I never had sex Rouge. I mean, I know how to do _it,_ but getting to_ it_, I can't do. I never had a girlfriend, or even a one night stand, and you know I never had a slave before you, so… really, I can't do it."

To his surprise, she laughed at his response. "You never had a girlfriend? I kind of find that hard to believe. With your body, I thought the girls would be all over you!"

_How dare she laugh at my expense! Believe me, I have millions of girls going gaga over me (you know who you are), even more than Sonic has! Why would she…_

…did she just say that I have a nice body? Huh.

"Yeah, um, anyway," he tried to get back to the situation at hand. "How about you just get back to kissing me and we'll take it from there." She answered him with a kiss on his lips, which was followed by multiple kisses on his neck. Now that she was on top of him she had better balance and more room to explore his body. He laid his head against his pillow and stretched his body out to give her more access to him. Her sweet kisses moved down to his chest where she began licking his jet black fur softly. He tried hard to stifle a moan that was dying to escape his throat.

As the kisses and licks grew more passionate, he found himself getting aroused and, need I say, very hot. As weird as it may seem, this girl was experienced. She knew exactly what she was doing and pin-pointed the spots that made Shadow's skin crawl and his whole body shake in ecstasy. He was about to run his hand over her body in the heat of the moment type fashion, but was sidetracked when a hand had snaked its way to his lower regions. For a moment he felt his cheeks grow hot and refused the impulse to shove her hand away from his most intimate spot. Before she had a chance to continue her touches, he pulled her face up for another kiss, lingering this time in an attempt to stall her from doing what he was both dreading and anticipating.

When the kiss ended he didn't have time to sneak in another one, as a hand grasped his growing manhood and started jerking it up and down extremely slowly. He laid his hands above his head and closed his eyes in pleasure. And just when he was about to tell her to either stop completely or go faster, he didn't decide which yet, he felt her take his member into her mouth, and he dug his nails into his skin in an attempt to stop himself from ending too quickly. He looked up at her for a short time, and noticed something odd. There was no expression notable in her face, or her eyes. Not lust, not pleasure, not even want or happiness. She looked as if she was actually bored with this. But she couldn't be, could she? At the end of the day, wasn't it her who wanted this so badly? It certainly wasn't Shadow. So why wouldn't there even be love evident in her eyes?

Maybe this was the problem between them. There wasn't any love between them at all. She wasn't pleasing him out of love. She was pleasing him to thank him. Pleasing him because she knew she had to. There was no love involved. Despite her kisses being sweet and sexy, as was her demeanor when she was giving them, she was only acting the way a well-behaved slave should be treating their Master. No love. Just "business." Just a Master and his slave.

He wanted to stop this right here, after realizing the truth behind her eagerness. He didn't want this to be something she thought she had to do to him. He wanted it to be-

"Ohh, fuck…" As a hot mouth sucked away at his member, making his lower region hot and heavy, begging for more, his entire theory seem to fly out the window.

Her head bobbed up and down as she, almost perfectly, sucked his organ, jerking it as she sucked. He never felt pleasure like this, never. He stopped himself from climaxing, since he was more than ready to do so. The pleasure was so great, mixed in with the pain he received from clamping down on his orgasm, that he didn't want it to ever end. He wanted to see how long he could take the treatment before his whole body gave up and gave in to the inevitable. Momentarily, his mind wandered back to how wrong this was, and how wrong it was to make her do this for him. But each time he tried to think about the right, reality brought him back to the wrong.

"Oh God Rouge," he moaned. She took note of this, as if she knew this was his signal that he was nearing the end. "Oh, goddammit, I'm gonna…!" His muscles contracted as he released into her mouth, waves of pleasure flying through him, turning his whole mind into that of a white bliss. The kind of bliss that can only be felt like this. The kind of bliss that leaves before it really got here.

She licked him clean, not missing a drop. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her face. She wasn't happy, or even content, with having pleased him, doing what she begged him to do for days. To be honest, it looked as if she was about to cry. But after Shadow calmed down and sat up on his rear on the bed, leaning against the headboard, she smiled at him. Licking her lips, the smile started to dissipate as she put her head down.

Panting, his mind wandered back to what he was thinking about before. Even after she "had her way with him," it still looked like something was on her mind. He hated to see that rare smile leave her face, so he pulled her close to him and kissed her again, albeit a tad less sensual, but satisfying nonetheless. The kiss ended, and a small smile remained, but he didn't think it was enough. Wrapping his arms around as carefully as he possibly could he laid her back down on the bed and stayed on top of her this time. He started kissing her lips as sweetly as she did. His kisses, in comparison to hers, were weak and almost pathetic, but he didn't stop. He wanted to make this as worthwhile as possible. Moving down to her neck, he kissed and licked softly and even snuck a few small bites in.

In all honesty, his movements and kisses were making him aroused again, as he felt a previously excited spot get hot again. As I said before, he never felt like this in his entire life. It was such an odd and foreign feeling, which scared him as much as it did embrace him. He didn't want it to end. He wanted to take it all the way, as ridiculous as it may sound. But when he looked up at his slave's face, he realized his plan may not come to fruition.

His lips landed on something wet, and when he opened his eyes he saw that she was crying. Her eyes looked up at him in fright, and her body grew tense underneath him. His stopped his movements immediately, and lifted his face from hers so he can see her clearly. "Rouge, what's wrong? Isn't this-"

"W-what are you doing?"  
_  
What does she mean by that?_ He was so confused. Why, he was only reciprocating what she did to him. What was making her cry and act weird like this? "Rouge, I was only doing what you were doing to me. Remember, we were… and you were… why are you crying?"

She didn't answer him. Her eyes grew wide with utter fear and tears rolled out of them non-stop. She tried to shield herself from him by curling into a make-shift ball, like Sonic did whenever he was doing some sort of spin attack. She looked away from him and continued to cry, leaving Shadow wondering what in the hell he did wrong. In an attempt to comfort her, her grabbed her body and pulled her up so she was sitting on his lap, his back against the headboard. What was he going to do? How could he possibly remedy _this_? She was crying for no apparent reason. He didn't do anything wrong! So why was she crying?

Gently, he put her down on the bed so her head was now on the pillow. Half-crawling back on top of her, he caressed her cheek softly, hoping she would at least open her eyes and look at him. He wanted so badly to try and do whatever it took to make her stop crying, to make her snap out of this crazy phase she went in to. Planting a kiss on her wet lips, he was able to get a reaction out of her. And it wasn't the reaction he wanted.

"NO, PLEASE STOP!" she screamed at him. "Just go away! Leave me alone, please!"

"Rouge, what's the matter? Why are you crying? Did I do something wrong? Please, just talk to me!"

Her eyes looked at him as if she never seen him before in her life. A brand new type of fear entered them, and she started trembling underneath him. If someone burst through the door right now, the scene playing out would look like that of a rape. Him on top of her, her crying and screaming her head off, and what used to be a consensual act is now something he couldn't make any sense of. Getting off her and sitting next to her he just stared as she went into a panic attack, holding herself tightly and crying furiously. What did he do? What did he do?

"Rouge, I-"

"Please, just leave me alone, I don't want-"

"You don't want this? But you just said-"

"Just go away!"

"NO. I'm not leaving until-"

"Shadow, just go!"

And he left. Slamming the already broken door, and banging his fists on every wall he passed, muttering curse words under his breath.

**XXXXX**

He wanted to scream. He wanted to tear something apart, preferably _her_. How did things get like this? They were only fooling around in the bed, playing with each other innocently. Did she think he would rape her? Would he do something bad to her? Maybe he brought back a bad memory? Was it his sudden eagerness that made her act like this? Things were going so nice… and then BOOM. She freaked out, and was still freaking out.

Something was not right. He thought things would be okay now but they weren't. He could sugarcoat it anyway he wanted but things just weren't okay. He didn't think they ever would be.

He didn't want to think about it now. He didn't want to think about anything. It wouldn't help anyway. He was sick and tired of coming up with conclusions. Sick and tired of trying to help. His help didn't do anything, even if he thought it did, it didn't. The thought of sending her back to the SH flew back into his mind, and he let it stay there for now.

So many things running through his head. So many fucking things.

But one thing really stuck out in his mind:

_You stupid hedgehog. You really thought you were getting laid tonight, huh?_

**XXXXX**

Well… they didn't have sex. But they were pretty close to, so that counts, right? Yeah, so… first lemon… I don't know, do you think it was too early to put one in? Or did you like it? Too much, too little? Tell me what you think in the reviews if you want. The title, I think, really fits. Didn't know what else to put, but if you think about it, it sort of fits…

I don't own Carmex, or Chapstick, or Kraft Mac & Cheese, or Pepsi. I felt obligated to put that in.

So, guys, what do you think will happen next? Why has Rouge started crying? Why has she gone into a panic attack? Are there really bad memories coming back to haunt her, t something else? What will Shadow do? Will their problems be resolved? To be continued… 


	13. Chapter 13

****

Chapter 13 Diseased

_Tears streaming, down your face…  
When you've lost something you cannot replace…  
Lights will guide you home… and ignite your bones…  
And I will try  
To fix you… "Fix you" by Coldplay. _****

He could honestly say that his head had never hurt as much as it did now. Pounding, throbbing pain, which bright lights and even diminutive sounds threatened to make worse. No amount of any pain killer did anything for him, and before he brought himself to overdose (which didn't seem like a pretty bad idea at this point) he dropped onto the bed- no the COUCH, she was still occupying _his_ bed in_ his_ room- and fell asleep in the living room, his stomach screaming at him and begging him to give it food.

When the clock reached 6:00 A.M. and the sun just started to rise and shine through the blinds in his house, his red eyes flickered open. The pain in his head was still distinct but he supposed it was starting to dissipate. Sitting up from the couch he rubbed his eyes and looked around. _No, of course she wouldn't be here, _he thought._ She's probably still in my room acting nuts. _Standing from the couch, he walked to his bedroom in hopes of taking a shower, since the other bathroom that was in the hall was only a half-bathroom. Reaching the door he already started to regret opening it, despite not even touching the doorknob yet. He feared what might be on the other side. Or what might _not_ be on the other side.

Unfortunately / fortunately, he never found out. The door was locked. _She must've locked it this time, because I know for a fucking fact that I did not. _He noted that the door was back on its hinges but not completely fixed. Wood chipped off of it with even the slightest touch and with one swift blow Shadow could easily execute, it would break again. However, even though she fixed it in a way that could be broken down again very easily, it was once again lockable. How she found the time (or the knowledge) to fix it was beyond him, but the last thing he wanted now was to talk to this girl. He was so disgusted and confused that the curiosity of why she acted like this couldn't win out the anger and pain her actions brought him. Giving up whatever hope he had, he walked to the kitchen and sat down on the wooden chair that seemed about ten times harder on his rear this morning.

Dropping his head down on the table he tried to run through the events that took place the previous night. After about a minute and no progress he ditched the idea and remained sitting on the chair for what was probably an hour. His tortured stomach could take no more abuse and angrily he stood up and forced some water down his throat in hopes of shutting it up. Returning to the table he sat back down, trying to bring different, obscure and ridiculous thoughts into his mind. But every time some new idea came into his head it brought him right back to Rouge.  
_  
Did she cry herself to sleep last night? Or did she calm herself down but was too embarrassed and scared to come out and talk to me?_ He felt like all of this was his fault. The way she acted when he took over and continued their little game. It was him that made her cry and scream and want him to leave at once. And he didn't even do anything wrong. No matter how many times he told himself the truth he didn't believe it and the whole mess of things made him feel one hundred times worse than how he already felt. He didn't want to think about it, but the pain was too strong to ignore and reality always forced him to come back to it one way or the other.

Grabbing another cup of water he sat down again before gulping the whole thing down and dropping his head on table, falling asleep.

**XXXXX**

A finger poked him in the back, right under his two small quills that stuck out behind his shoulders. Trying to hold onto the sweet dream that he knew he would forget all about when he awoke, he ignored the fingers that threatened to ruin his slumber. As the kitchen came into view and the dream disappeared into nothing, he ordered himself to wake up, since running after the already dead dream would be a waste of time.

It took him a while to shake the sleep off of him, and when he did he came face to face with her.

No wonder his dream was so beautiful and sweet. _She_ wasn't in it.

"What do you want?" he asked her, a bit too mean, considering the circumstances.

She stood limp by the side of his chair, her head down only slightly. Her eyes were once again as red as fresh blood and her whole body gave off an aura of sadness and disappointment.

"I want you to take me back." He expected her to say something along the lines of sorry and please forgive me, but this one sentence never crossed his mind.

"Take you where?"

"Back to them. I deserve to be with them. I don't want to ruin your life anymore, or cause you anymore frustration. Bring me back." She said this with such despair and hopelessness, and her stance only enhanced her tone of voice. In all aspects, she looked the exact opposite of the person she portrayed last night, yet she looked relatively the same. Just another thing to add to Shadow's "Things Rouge does that make me utterly confused" list. Simply put, she looked the way a slave was supposed to look. Expected to look.

Would she ever look like anything else?

He didn't want to deal with her right now. He didn't even want to look at her, or be near her. It seems that every time they had conversations or tried to do anything together, she ended up crying and he ended up trying to cover up his anger with confusion. The only funny part was that they've only known each other for a matter of, what, three days? And yet they were arguing and fighting and butting heads like an old married couple.

Disgusted and annoyed, he got up from the chair, wiping some spit off his chin, and walked right past her to the living room. Falling down on the couch he crossed his arms and looked away from her. Eventually, she came into the living room and stood beside the couch. "Are you going to take me back?"

He looked at her, his eyes malicious and deceiving. Sarcastically, he spat out, "Oh, so you have this whole thing figured out, do you? You really think that by sending you back, everything will be okay? Wow, for a pathetic slave like yourself you really know how to fix a fucking situation!"

His dark sarcasm struck her like a knife, and the agony was clearly evident in her eyes. Inside he felt guilty and stupid for rebuking her like that, but he didn't care. He reached a state of mind where her tears and apologies didn't matter to him anymore. They didn't faze him or bother him, and whatever feelings he might've had towards her, he shoved out violently and blocked their re-entrance.

She stared at him, waiting for him to reply, or at least acknowledge her sad attempts. It was upsetting to see him angry at her. It was more upsetting than how she acted out last night. She didn't want him to be livid at her. But he obviously was.

"Can I at least say I'm sorry?" she asked with tears in her eyes.

"Sure," he said simply. She looked up at him hopefully. "But your apology won't mean anything to me."

If his sarcasm hit her like a knife, than his carelessness shot about a dozen arrows through her entire being. She let the tears fall out of her eyes, as they were begging to do for a while, and the hedgehog looked away from her. Her arms limp by her side, she cried silently. Even her random sniffles were discreet, but her sobbing boomed loud in his ears. He felt a sharp pain inside him, and he had to tell himself not to look at her.

She kept crying for, God knows how long, until finally she symbolically gave up whatever hope she had desperately clung onto, and fell down harshly onto the carpet and balled herself into a small ball, shaking. This made Shadow finally turn her way, and the scene that played out seemed just like every other scene he saw. Her giving up, crying and holding herself, falling to the floor curling into a ball. Giving up.

Guilt. Guilt. Guilt. It was the thing she was best at. Making him feel like a jackass. Making him regret whatever he might've said or done to get her to act like this. It was almost too much. He wanted to run away. Get out of here, away from her. It felt like the very beginning, when he didn't know a thing about her, and he scraped for any small piece of information from her. Now, with a certified certificate of acquisition of the girl, a somewhat sexual experience in bed, a tour of his house, a speech of how and why she came to be in that alley, and now this plea to take her back to the people she ran away from in the first place under his belt, he still didn't know her any better than before. The sharp searing pain of guilt forced him to keep his eyes on her and form some sort of confession of his despicableness toward her. The apology he chose to give ended up being just a sigh of remorse.

Through her tears she blabbered out something almost inaudible, but Shadow managed to catch every word: "T-then what a-a-are you going to d-do with me?" She looked so pathetic it was utterly sad, and Shadow had to force himself to push back the tears that were threatening to come out of his unforgiving eyes. _"…he told himself over and over again from the time he brought this girl here and learned her (thought extremely vague) story that he would have to be different. He even forced himself to make a mental note NOT to act violently with this girl, not in her state_." Yeah, he remembered that. And now what was he doing? Going against his own ambition, that was what he was doing. How could he let himself do this to her? He had beaten her and broke her and made her cry, and he didn't even have to lay a finger on her.

His "ambition" was a little different now, of course, after hearing her whole story. But that gave him no reason to start acting like an asshole to her, regardless of what she did to make him angry. Shadow was not good at controlling his anger, not by a long shot, but he managed to hide it for the sake of this girl, and so far he had done a pretty good job at it. Covering it up with confusion and consolation as long as this girl stopped crying and acting strange.

It was selfish of him to do. Creating a camouflage around his feelings for his own benefit. Doing whatever he had in his own power to make her happy again. It was so selfish it made him sick. _Am I really that… that… do I really come off as a fucker like that_? Looking at his actions from a different point of view made him realize the error of his ways. The error of everything he had done. When he tried to gain information from her he had played every angle he knew how to play. Lying, bribing, acting so nice, acting so innocent. Anyone could tell that wasn't who he really is. Even the little things seemed to smack of his selfishness. Trying to get her in the bath, get her to eat, convince her not to act like a slave, convince her that acting like a slave and Master team might ease the tension between them, persuade her into not showing him her talents in the bedroom, then persuade her into carrying on her talents in the bedroom which she refused to do so, and now this. Somehow, everything he had done seem to benefit him more than it did her. In retrospect, it wasn't like he gained everything and she walked away with nothing. She did receive something. But not everything.

But right now, this very moment, was the worst of all of them. It was the most gruesome, sickening, revolting, and painful selfish act he had committed so far. Ignoring her apology, simply ignoring her herself, made the guilt he was feeling so much more unbearable. Once again, she was in need of his comfort. Every other time he gave in and stood right by her side the entire time, wiping her tears and telling her good things, like how he wasn't mad and how things were going to get better. He should be doing this now, instead of just staring at her crying pathetically on the floor. He even ignored her proposal, of how taking her back would return his life back to normal. That too, would be a gain for him and a loss for her. And yet, she said this to him because she doesn't want to see him like this anymore. She knows that it is because of her that he is mad, that his life is so much more stressful, that he had to sacrifice work for her, and that so many things in his life were forced to change for her.

She cared more about him than he did about her.

She didn't ignore his feelings, his true feelings, whilst he shoved them out of the way.

Like he said before, she wasn't stupid.

And this little mess he was in kept going around and around in vile circles.

Every time he got caught up in his thoughts, and distanced himself from the real world, he got closer and closer to the head of the situation.

Closer and closer, yet he couldn't find the true answer, the thing that would solve everything, the thing he so desperately needed, and wanted.

This time, he did.

Every other time she shattered, and it hurt him as much as it did her. He tried to figure it out, but no luck.

This time, he did.

Though he was still healing from the previous times this has happened, and the wounds still hurt, he tried to figure it out.

He knew that he did this time. If only he had sooner.

He could've stopped her from breaking if he had known sooner.

**XXXXX**

**I know, I'm evil, posting this short chapter, but I really wanted to get it up. It is currently 12:34 A.M where I live, and typing a chapter while drinking a Sierra Mist while listening to your iPod isn't something most people do at this time, but….. I really wanted to get this up…**

It is a weird chapter, and you may not understand it, but that is why I changed the story to DRAMA and SUSPENSE. Yep. Originally CH 13 and CH 14 were supposed to be one full chapter, but I divided them.

Oh yes, the song at the top. I won't usually do that, but it really connects with the chapter and I just think it fits with the entire story. But I won't always do that.

Before this AN gets any dumber, I'm gonna sign off so… yeah…please review. 


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 (Lifetime) Guarantees**

_"…Tears stream, down your face  
When you lose something you cannot replace  
…And I will try…to fix you" _****

Almost immediately he sprang from the couch and ran to her side, forgetting everything he had said to her. Wrapping his arms around her he tried to figure out something to say, but his mind wasn't functioning properly and a dreary, half-assed "I'm sorry" wouldn't suffice now anyway. So instead he wrapped his arms around her shaking body tighter and tried to calm her down with his body language rather than his words. Automatically she wanted to get away from him, not seeing nor wanting the comfort from his actions. He knew she didn't believe in his crazy change of heart. But he didn't care.

After a few minutes of struggling against him, thinking he would snap at her, despite his actions being empathetic and careful, she stopped writhing and simply collapsed into her Master's arms. She couldn't look or feel anymore pathetic and hopeless, and she pressed her shivering form into his. All of this, her heartrending tears and her limp body squeezing into his body, needed to stop.

He knew how to stop this now. Still, he couldn't help but feel his stomach churn.

Swallowing hard, he placed one arm under her shoulders and the other under her knees, and scooped her feeble frame off the floor with ease. Bringing her to the couch he was about to lay her down when her arms latched onto his body in an aggressive manner, and she quietly begged him not to let go of her. Whether it was because she thought he would hurt her once he let her down, or she simply didn't want to leave his comforting arms, he didn't know. But he obeyed and sat himself on the couch instead, holding her in his arms, positioning her on his lap. She clamped her arms around him. Sooner or later, he would have to pry them off of him. But even so, he liked having her close to him. Especially now.

It took him forever to think up this one sentence, and even then it wasn't that good. It was the only thing he could think of, and it pretty much summed up everything that happened very poorly.

"…How about we try to start over?"

Her head rested lightly on his shoulder, and without lifting it she gave off a quizzical look. Wiping her tear-stained face she replied, "Start over _what_?" Her voice was quivering, but it was in no way callous. Then again, she wasn't mad at him, only upset and hurt. _He_ was the one acting like a bitch.

He tried to explain what he meant. "Things started out…_okay_… at first. I mean, you and I did have some problems, but really nothing too major, right?" She nodded. He continued, "But then, things started to sour, and I thought I could fix them on my own, but really all I did was fix only my problems, when it was yours that really mattered. I didn't realize it at first, but now I see everything clearer. Before I continue, I just want to say that I apologize for everything I have done, and… how I yelled at you and…"

She looked up only slightly, but it was enough to see the mixed emotions she was wearing on her face. Wiping some more tears away she said, "I don't really understand. I mean, I DO understand, but…" She trailed off, and he didn't blame her for doing it. This whole mess was so confusing, it was impossible for her to understand everything. Even he didn't understand it all. But he knew it was his entire fault.

"Don't worry about it," he told her. "I don't expect you to understand all of it, and you don't have to. It's my fault and I want to fix this whole mess. I've been selfish and I messed up everything, but not anymore. From now on, I intend to make everything right."

His voice was so calm and relaxed it surprised_ him_ more than it did her. Loosening her iron grip on his form she let off a faint smile, the kind that sent a pleasant shiver up his spine, and that made her look like more than just an object with a collar around its neck. But the smile left as quickly as it had come, as she let her head fall back on his shoulder.

"From what you've told me," he said, "I think the main reason as to why you are acting like this is because of your past. It had an enormous emotional (and equally physical) impact on you. Those two men that you were telling me about; even though I don't know you they are-"

At once her eyes grew wide with fear as she remembered what he was talking about, and before she tried to explain herself Shadow interrupted her. "Don't worry. You don't have to tell me their names if you don't want to right now. It wouldn't exactly help us now anyway.

"Besides, all that matters is what they did to you, not who they were. (Of course that piece of info will be useful later, but right at this moment it wouldn't make much of a difference.) They had no right to treat you the way they did. There are laws against slavery cruelty (as ridiculous as _that_ sounds) and what you described to me was beyond illegal. To make things worse, you were only a minor when they did those things to you. You only turned 18 a few days ago… they did these horrible things to you and you were so young, and you still are. You didn't deserve that kind of torture. You didn't deserve that kind of life." He could see that his speech was affecting her negatively, as she started to shiver and cry into his chest. It pained him to see that what he was saying was hurting her like this. But he needed to get this out.

"You don't have to worry anymore. I know that that is all you've been doing these past few days, worrying about them and fearing that they would find you. I don't blame you for worrying, but I want you to trust me in this, okay? You can't deny that I have done so much for you, hell, I even bought you! Doesn't that show that I want to protect you?"

"Of course it does, and I appreciate everything you have done for me, Master! Please, I tell you that I don't deserve your kindness-" She cut herself off, and Shadow felt that it was a perfect segue.

"You see? This is also what I'm talking about. It's like… we're going in a circle with you and me. I do nice things for you… and you're never thankful for them. What you're doing is almost worse than taking what I do for you for granted. At least then I would know that you appreciate everything I do for you-"

"But I_ DO_ appreciate everything you do for me!" Of course, everything he said upset her even more, and she started crying again. It was sad, certainly, but, it felt like Déjà vu, didn't it?

Gently taking her off of his lap because his knees were going numb, and sitting her next to him on the couch, he said in a voice that was not mean, but helpful, "No, you don't. You think you do and you want to, but you don't, Rouge. Of every single goddamn thing I do for you, you have either shoved my attempts away or told me that I shouldn't have done them. You say thanks, but I can tell you aren't happy at all with what I do for you. And I want you to be."

As unsettling as the speech was, he can tell he got to her. And this time, in a positive manner. She knew what he was saying, as much as she didn't want to admit it with her words, her mannerisms showed that she understood what he was getting at. With every little good deed he "forced" himself to do for her, she didn't accept them like she should've. Like he wanted her to. It was all going around in a big, vicious circle. He needed to break that circle, before he broke something even more precious.

"I guess you're right. No, you ARE right. But I don't do it on purpose. I didn't even realize how I was making you feel, and I'm sorry." She looked down, obviously feeling sorry for herself, as if she wasn't already ashamed of her actions before.

"Rouge, I don't blame you at all. I know how it feels to doubt other people's kindness. But it isn't your fault. Its something you're doing "unconsciously" rather than intentionally." It didn't feel right to assume, but thankfully she agreed with him.

"Do you remember my saying before that you're the nicest person I ever met?" He nodded, letting something between a laugh and a snort escape his throat. "Well, I was telling the truth. I mean, the only people I've known in my life were the people at the orphanage, and they don't count, and _them_. And you know all about them. You've shown me so much kindness. And it surprised me. They broke whatever hope I may have had, and didn't give me any compassion at all. But you did. And truthfully, it scared me."

"Because it was different to you? "

"Yes, but because I never received any before. I only knew depression and pain, not benevolence. And I thought everyone was like that, and that was how everyone was going to treat me. Because that was what _they_ made me think."

Pulling her closer to him he told her, "I know, I know exactly what you mean. This shitty world we live in forces us to think that way. That slaves are just something to torture and abuse, not love or care about. It always made me sick, and I never understood why it has to be this way, and I guess I never will. That's why I hesitated to actually own you and claim you as mine. Simply because I didn't want to, and that I didn't deem it as necessary. As I found out, that was what was holding us back. Now I see that you wanted that sort of protection all along." Thinking back to her story she told him, he felt himself tense up with anger. His arms were almost about to painfully tighten around her form when he forced himself to stop before he unintentionally hurt her. Sensing his anger, she put a hand on his taut arm.

**XXXXX **

Looking down at her tear-stained face, he allowed himself a small smile, which crept onto his lips slowly, but made all the difference. That simple touch, so insignificant and trivial, felt so nice to him. It was funny really. He was supposed to be the one comforting her, yet she was the one putting her hand on him in an attempt to help him. He wanted the touch to last. He put his own hand on hers and moved it from his arm to the couch. It was such a foreign touch.

"Master?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry that I called you by your first name yesterday."

In all honesty, he wasn't even thinking about that. Of course, he knew she said it, and he was more surprised than angry at hearing it. But he forgot all about it the next day. Apparently, it meant more to her than it did to him. "Don't sweat it, I'm not mad," he said. "In fact, I just want to forget all about what happened last night and, honestly, everything before that. Like I said, I just want to start over and-"

"Do you at least want to know why?" she asked him. Her tone of voice told him that she was anxious to get it out. But why?

"Um, uh, I guess so…" He wasn't sure if it was right. Ultimately, he DID want to know why she acted so strange. But would it help?

"Please, I think you deserve to know. You said I should be more thankful for what you do for me. This is the least I could do."

"If you're comfortable with telling me, then go ahead. But keep in mind I won't get upset if you change your mind."

"I won't. There's no use in trying to hide it from you." She told him why she acted so strange and started to freak out. In a nutshell, she was **afraid** of his "taking charge" after she finished with him. When she was with her former Master (and his lover), there was no connection between the two of them. She said that they were always only "Master" and "slave", nothing more. It was always her that served him or him that used her. This was the life slaves were forced to learn, obey, and live. At a young age they were taught to always submit to whoever wanted to use them (most times it was someone the slave didn't even know), and to never refuse nor deny that person their desire. To give up their body for the pleasure of others; to willingly offer every orifice of their being; to always be ready to serve their Master and to never disobey their commands and orders. To live a life of complete submission and obedience, and to _enjoy _it, without any complaints or self-absorbed criticism that might go against the Government's power.

They were also taught about sex, and every detail underneath the category, but not in the way you are normally taught it. These teachings were usually taught during a slave's time in a SH, and if they were previously educated about the subject, or any subject SH-ers (Slavehouse-ers, owners of the Slavehouse) deemed necessary to change, they were brainwashed until every thought that crossed their mind before was completely obliterated. They were told that sex was only for the pleasure of the one that owned them, not for the enjoyment of a slave. Slaves would never ask for sex or feel the need to ever _want _it, but to simply agree to it if it was the Master's decision. To them, sex was neither a natural act of life nor a joyful act shared between two people. It wasn't even a choice. It was simply the satisfaction of whoever they were owned by. The owners _want_, and the owners _decision_. To put in simpler terms, which SH-ers used on those slaves that never heard about sex before, and therefore were the easiest to influence, slaves were the thing being fucked. Just a _thing_, never a someone.

But Shadow introduced something new and different that petrified her. She didn't say what it was, but Shadow knew.

It was love. Something actual and tangible. Something that wasn't a fact and wasn't forced upon you. It was something that every person could feel, and every person _should _feel. But she never did. Shadow showed her how love making should be, contradictory to what she was forced to believe. Shadow knew about sex, regardless of never experiencing it firsthand. When he "took charge", so to speak, he had simply illustrated what he knew it should be like. And for a guy like him, he thought he did a pretty good job at doing it. But what ruined it was that he had an unwilling partner. What also ruined it was the kissing and eroticism he brought into the love making. If he had skipped the foreplay and just took control of her like a Master should have, then she might've not freaked out like she did. She never had the privilege of experiencing true love (like Shadow had with Maria), therefore anything sensual or erotic didn't seem natural to her.

He felt like a prick. Honestly, he did. He already knew all of this, yet his mind seemed to shut down when he took control of her. He tried to apologize but she told him it wasn't his fault. Even though they both knew that it was.

After explaining this to him, she confided in him another secret the hedgehog was dying to know: Why she was having these nightmares.

The reason, of course, was because of her former Master. She told him that the nightmares were semi-premonitions of what would happen if they found her after she ran away. Since she constantly worried about them finding her, her mind was filled with the thoughts of what they would do to her if they ever _did_ find her. Every night she suffered through these horrible dreams, and up until today she didn't dare want to tell Shadow about them, which is why she kept them a secret. There was also another explanation she needed to say, and he wasn't expecting this one. The nightmares were the reason she kept the truth from him so long.

When she first had the nightmares, she didn't trust him as much as she does now. That was why _he _was _in_ her nightmares, portraying her Master. She was afraid to tell him the truth. By telling him, it might win her a one-way ticket back to them. Now, things were different. Now, she trusted him wholeheartedly. And she told him everything.

"I kept thinking that you would send me back to them if I told you. And then those nightmares would become real." He frowned at hearing that he was the bad guy lurking in her dreams, but he knew it was good for her to finally be able to talk about it. She shuddered at hearing the words come out of her mouth, the nightmares flooding her mind as she re-lived every single one of them.

In the end, everything she had said to him boiled down to one particular thing: she was afraid. She needed protection and she needed help. And he was the only one to give it.

He wrapped his arms around her as if his protection would drive the bad memories away. Angrily, she wiped the tears off her eyes but they were stained on, and new ones came down her face anyway. "I shouldn't have kept everything a secret, but I was scared. And I still am…"

Shadow replied, "You don't have to anymore. I promised that I would protect you, to never let him near you again. You're so fragile, like glass." She looked up at him, confused. "_He_ made you so delicate, so breakable. You're afraid of everyone and everything. But I don't blame you. Its his fault. He ruined you. And I promise to change that."

Running a hand through her hair he said, "Remember the story I told you about Maria?" She nodded. "You remember what I told her, and what I promised her?" She thought about it for a minute and then replied, "Yes I do. But you told me that you didn't keep that promise, right?"

"Yes," he said. "I didn't keep it. At least, I don't believe I fulfilled my promise. Now, from that story, you know that keeping promises isn't my specialty. I know that I've failed to keep my promises in the past but I plan to keep this one, the one that I'm promising _you_. I swear to God that I will."

**XXXXX **

The rest of the day went by slowly, with a new sense of… everything… floating around the two. The events of last night and today went by so crazily, it was useless to try and stress over them. Of course, Rouge wondered if Shadow would reprimand her for how she acted out, as if he hadn't enough already, but decided against asking him.

Still, there was one thing that remained a problem. The door of his bedroom was still broken. It was halfway on its hinges and halfway off, and the wood was chipped and sticking out dangerously. Shadow tried fixing it as best he could, but after a good 12 minutes of doing so he ended up banging it down again out of frustration. Now, there was an opening where the door should be, and a huge and extremely hazardous piece of wood on the floor, which he later moved to the front yard to be picked up by the garbage truck.

Apart from the door, everything else seemed to be okay. The hedgehog and bat didn't talk to each other much; they felt that whatever needed to be said was already said, and the day went by smoother than the last few days had been going. Only when it was dark out and the lengthy day had ended was when a question popped up. Shadow had asked Rouge if she still wanted to sleep in his bed, considering that the guest room was directly across the hall from his, and that there was no door in his room for the time being, so he would be able to hear her clearly now if she happened to need him. Not surprisingly, she turned the idea down.

"Please, I don't want to be that far away from you. Let me stay with you?" she begged him.

Biting his tongue, he said, "Well… yeah, okay. You'll just keep bugging me until I say yes anyway." He really didn't want her to keep clinging onto him. The more she did so, the harder it would be to stop her. He knew she was scared and she had every right to be. But she needed to trust that he would be there, only several feet away from her, ready to go to her whenever need be. To add to this, she still refused to sit another room whilst he took a shower, and to make matters worse, she forced him to stay in the bathroom while she took hers. It was embarrassing as it was unnecessary, and he wanted it to end.

For now though, he gave in and allowed her these things, solely for her own peace of mind. But he could tell she knew she was pushing it. He knew this because of what she said right when they were going to bed. Lying next to him on the bed, scooting closer to him for warmth and protection, she said, "You do so much for me, Master. I really do appreciate it, even if I have a funny way of showing it. But I really do."

"I know you do Rouge," he said, as he was starting to doze off.

She allowed herself a small laugh. "Heh, you do so many nice things for me, and treat me so well. I guess I'll never know why you do those things…"

"(Yawn) what was that, Rouge?" he asked.

"I said that I'll never know why you do these things for me…"

"Oh… I know why…"

"Then why?"

Looking deep into her eyes, complete seriousness replacing the fatigue on his face, he replied,

"Because I can't let you break."

**XXXXX**

**Yes, a little longer wait compared to my usual updating, but eh, long(er) chapter so it wasn't a total loss.**

**Thanks goes to NiGHTS4life for giving me ideas on this chappie. He claims that I am bloody nuts for making a story like this, with these characters playing these roles, but he likes the story nonetheless, lol. Feel free to share your thoughts! :) **


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15 Life Support**

_"I can't let you break."_

She was too frail, and she will probably always be frail, to have this promise be broken on her.

A couple of days went by, and, fortunately, nothing major happened between them. Although she has only been under his care for about a week, Rouge's injuries seemed to be healing well. Shadow made sure to keep a close eye on them constantly and helped her clean them. There was one in particular that he checked numerous times and found himself cleaning over and over again. It was a fairly small mark, on her left ankle. In fact, since it was so puny and resided in such an inconspicuous spot on her body, it was covered by various other marks and therefore was hard to see unless you knew exactly where it was. As he was helping her clean it one night whilst she was in the bathtub, he asked her how she got the wound.

"It isn't a wound, Master," she told him. "It was where I got branded."

Branded? "You mean, that isn't an cut on your ankle? It's permanent?" She nodded. "When my Master, the one right before you, bought me, he branded that mark on me."

Shadow found this hard to believe. The mark looked nothing like a brand. Pulling her ankle up he inspected it better now that he knew what it was. And sure enough, he could see that the little scratch was indeed burned into her skin. He immediately felt ashamed of cleaning it so much, since it was impossible to get rid of, but fortunately she didn't seem to mind or even notice that he was doing it. Whenever he washed her or took care of a wound that might have opened up, she was always in a sort of daze, drawn out of it only when he spoke to her. It wasn't a stupid daze, but more of a content and happy one. Her face would be expressionless, and her body wouldn't be as tense as was the norm. Shadow figured that the confused state she went into wasn't anything to worry about. Perhaps it was simply because she liked being close and intimate with him, since cleaning her skin whilst being naked in a bathtub was the most intimate they have gotten since that one night.

Placing a finger on the brand he traced the image it had burned into her fair skin. A small N shape, very faint, but easy to feel. Outlining the shape he asked, "He branded you with an N shape." It was more of a statement than a question. He only mentioned it because the N was a hint towards what her Masters name is.

She answered, "Yes. He did it when I was so young that I barely remember it. I even forget its there sometimes…" She kept talking but he was barely listening anymore. He was too intrigued by the brand. As he looked at it more aggressively he noticed the N shape was more or less a disfigured shape that _resembled_ an N. Maybe because it was so faint. But he sluffed it off for now. Besides, she agreed with him that it was an N shape, so why shouldn't he believe her? _N…_ that little N was now branded in his mind, and the image kept floating back to his vision. _N_…

**XXXXX**

With the passing of the days, the hedgehog and bat became more comfortable with each other, and soon enough they were acting like old friends who had always lived together. The rickety bridge of tension between the two of them was starting to break, and Shadow found himself actually having full-fledged conversations with her. Apart from the constant "Master" at the end of most of her statements, and the collar around her neck, the "slave and Master" relationship between them didn't influence them much, and they lived normally. Speaking of which, Shadow noticed the collar tied around her neck was chafing her skin and he caught her scratching her neck numerous times. There were also blisters on her neck, which only seemed to be getting worse. Noticing her discomfort, he took her to her room to get rid of the decaying black collar.

"But, I need to wear one, Master," she said.

"I know," he told her. "But we need to get rid of that one, its disgusting." Looking through some of his drawers he finally found it: a small, leather black collar with a silver lock on it. He had bought it a couple days before he turned 18, knowing that he would need it when the time came, and he didn't want to be bothered with providing one for the slave he would eventually have to buy. He hid it in his drawers so he wouldn't have to look at it. Even though he would never have to wear one, he found it degrading.

"Here, this one is brand new and wont chafe your neck." He fastened the collar loosely around her neck, so as not to irritate the already abused spot. He told her that the little lock was just a decoration, but it was actually attached to the buckle, and if he wanted to he could lock the collar around her neck, therefore it could only be opened by a key. The designers of the collar used a type of leather that couldn't be cut by scissors or a knife, therefore the key would be the only way to take the collar off if you locked it.

She held the small lock in her hand as she looked admiringly at her new collar. "Thanks," she told Shadow. "This one is much more comfortable." Shadow stood behind her as both of them looked in the mirror. He was taller than her, and not as skinny, but besides that, they really looked like quite a pair. He noticed his clothes were still baggy on her, even though he fed her much more than she probably ever gotten in her entire life. "One of these days I'll have to take you shopping for clothes." Her face turned upset, and he can tell she wasn't too happy with the idea.

"What's wrong with these clothes, Master?"

"Well, what do you think is wrong with them?" he asked in a jokingly way.

She looked at herself in the mirror, observing every piece of clothing. "Nothing," she replied.

"Rouge! Look at you! They're twice your size! You need your own clothes, because you can't keep using mine. Besides, there are things you need that I don't have, namely a _brassiere_ and _underwear_."

"Oh, okay…" was all she said.

Sighing, he said, "Listen, I have to do some things around the house-"

"You mean you're leaving?" she screamed.

"No! I'm not leaving! I just have to clean up some things around the house, you know, stuff like that… if you want you can watch T.V. or… take a nap or…" In all honesty, there wasn't much she could do.

"You don't want me to help you?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to. Just, do something on your own for once, you know, to collect your thoughts or something. You don't always have to be around me constantly." He left the room, leaving her to do whatever she felt like doing without him.

So she followed him. __

**XXXXX**

Shadow never had his own shadow before, aside from the one you get when the sun hits you. But here, the sun wasn't hitting him. Here, there was a girl who thought that she was attached to him. And she wouldn't leave his side for a moment.

When he got to the kitchen he looked back for a second only to come face to face with her, their noses touching and their bodies extremely close. "Ahh!" he screamed, not expecting to see her there. "Rouge, why are you following me like that? " 

"I want to help you clean, Master. And I don't want to be alone," she said innocently. "Don't you want me to help you?"

"Ugh, you're so confused. Yes, I would_ like_ your help, but I don't_ need_ it. I don't want you to exert yourself too much. Just go and relax or something." He backed away from her, hoping she would get the idea and leave him alone for a while. It wasn't that _he_ wanted to be alone, but he wanted _her_ to be alone for a while instead. It wasn't healthy for her to feel like she needed to constantly be by his side 24/7. He told her that he would protect her and look over her as best he could, and she believed him. But that didn't mean she had to pursue his every step. 

"Please, let me help you? I'm not just a sex slave, but a house slave too. I cleaned for my old Master all the time… please let me help you clean?" 

Sighing heavily, he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Ok, ok, you can help me out, but then I want you to leave me alone for a while alright?" She nodded eagerly. He sighed again and looked around the kitchen to find something she could do. Washing the dishes would be too dangerous; she could cut herself on the knives. A lot of the things in his un-child-safe kitchen would be harmful for her. Even putting the dishes away could prove hazardous. After thinking everything though, he gave her a wet rag and told her to clean the table, which didn't need cleaning in the first place, but it would make her happy enough. Eager to do something productive for her Master, she grabbed the rag and started cleaning while he did the dishes. He thought cleaning the table would take a while for her, but really it only took a matter of seconds until she was asking him what she could do next.

"Ummm," he said.

"Can I help you with the dishes?" she asked.

Instinctively he wanted to say no, but if he did he knew he would have to think of something else to say to her. So he told her, "Alright, you can dry the dishes for me. BUT BE CAREFUL WHEN I HAND YOU THE KNIVES. And the forks. And the spoons. You know what, just be careful with EVERYTHING I hand to you."

"Okay." She stood beside him and picked up a plate to start drying. She was so eager and enthusiastic to clean. _God, I thought it was only a stereotype when people said women like to clean, _he thought.

While cleaning the last dish, he heard Rouge scream as she dropped the towel and the knife she was holding onto the floor, holding a badly bleeding hand. Dropping his dish he grabbed her hand and looked it over. Her finger was nicked pretty badly, a constant flow of blood spilling out of it. Grabbing some tissues he wrapped the finger up tightly as he led her into the bathroom. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"she tried to say.

"-Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it." He washed the blood off her finger, only to have fresh blood replace it instantly, and bandaged it tightly, the red liquid seeping through the bandage. "There, that should hold up," he said calmly but there was a hint of agitation in his voice that was hard to get around. Rouge noticed it. "Please, I'm really sorry. I know you said to be careful, and I was-" 

"It was only an accident, so don't worry about it." Even though his voice was semi-calm, he felt his heart doing jumping jacks in his chest. When he heard her scream, he thought she cut her finger completely off, or that it would need stitches or something. Thank goodness it was only a minor cut that would heal with the use of a band-aid. But it was too close a call to ignore. He was jeopardizing her safety by letting her clean dishes. If she already caused an accident with simply drying off a knife, even after he told her to be careful with it, then God knows what else she could accidently get injured on if given the chance.

"Rouge," he said slowly, but strictly, holding her shoulders so he had her full attention. "I don't want you helping me out for the rest of the day alright? You could have really hurt yourself, and I don't want any more accidents to happen on your behalf. Now I'm going to finish up in the kitchen, and while I'm doing so I don't want you to follow me in there and try to help me. Just go take a nap like I told you, or do something, ANYTHING, that doesn't involve me. And before you have the chance to say so, I won't be far away from you. I'll only be in the other room, okay?" _Please don't argue with me…_

"But, I'll be more careful, I promise!" she tried to persuade him.

_Goddammit._ "Rouge, DON'T argue with me. I told you that I don't want you to help me anymore. Now you do as I say or there's going to be consequences." Like before, he hated being strict with her and threatening her with punishment. Luckily, she obeyed.

Looking down from embarrassment as much as denial, she replied, "Ok…"

Leaving for the kitchen, he heard footsteps behind him, but before he had time to react he heard them turn toward the living room instead of following him. _Thank goodness_, he thought.

**XXXXX **

During his entire time in the kitchen, Rouge was beyond restless. Moving from the couch, to the door, to the window, to the hallway, to the doorway of the kitchen, she couldn't sit still for a moment. Every couple of seconds she looked back into the kitchen to make sure that the hedgehog was still there, cleaning things up. Even after looking back a good 15 times it still wasn't enough to convince her. She hung around the doorway of the kitchen, moving away only when the he turned her way. She thought for sure she would get in trouble if he saw her hanging around the kitchen, the place where he forbade her from entering. After moving away from the kitchen doorway, she returned to the living room where she stood holding herself tightly. Her eyes switched constantly from the front door to the window, then back again. Every little sound caught her attention, and every time she heard something she concluded that it was _them_ coming to get her. That they would burst through the door, see her, and take her, and Shadow wouldn't be there to stop them. Of course, the idea was ridiculous but it remained in her mind, and the more she thought about the possibility the more she scared herself. So she returned to the doorway of the kitchen.

She wanted him to come out. She didn't like him being this far from her. A simple few meters of distance between them meant nothing to her. She wanted him by her side. But he wasn't coming out.

Of course, he had seen her looming around the doorway. He could see the fear on her face and how she wanted him out of the kitchen and near her, like he had always been. But she needed this. She needed to be alone, and to stop clinging onto him all the time. If he continued to let her attach herself to him, her condition would only get worse. Because of her past, it was difficult for her to feel secure when she was alone. Those fuckers she was forced to live with made her fear everything and anything, and if Shadow didn't reverse the damage they did to her, then everything up to that night in the alley would count for nothing. She needed this, more than anything.

Once he finished cleaning everything in the kitchen, he decided that she had been alone for enough time, even though technically speaking he had only been away from her for only 10 minutes, but it felt like hours to both of them. He could still see her out of the corner of his eye. She didn't know he could see her, so she remained at the doorway, until…

"Rouge, I know you're standing there," he said bluntly, but not angrily.

Immediately, as he predicted, she denied it. "N-no I wasn't, Master! I was just…"

"You were just 'what?'" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Changing the subject, she said, "I hate being alone, Master. I like having you near me, because I know that when you're near me I have that protection from you, and I don't have to worry about whether or not you'll be there if something bad happens. Just don't be mad at me. I stayed out of the kitchen!"

"But you were hanging around the doorway," he said playfully, not actually angry at her doing so.

"I didn't want to be in the living room without you… I kept thinking that…"

"That they would come bursting through the door and find you?" He said this as a joke, but by the way she nodded, he could tell it was the actual answer.

Sighing, he took her hand and walked with her to the living room. "Rouge, they aren't going to find you here. They don't know where I live! They don't even know of my existence! There is no way they would be able to find you here. Understand?"

"I'm still scared…"

"Don't be. Even if, by some crazy and uncouth chance, they come and find you here, I won't let them do anything to you. I promise."

She smiled at him, clenching his hand tightly in hers. But the smile quickly turned into a frown as a thought crossed her mind:

"What's a T.V.?"

Wasn't exactly the perfect transition and subject changer, and it also wasn't a question Shadow heard often, but she was serious.

"You don't know what a T.V. is?" he asked her. She shook her head.

**XXXXX **

"…And if you click these little arrows you can change the channel. The channels go up when you press the arrow on top, and down if you press the other arrow." He gave her the remote so she could try it on her own. She seemed fascinated by the television, for as she confided in Shadow that she never seen nor heard of one before. But even though she was amazed at it, she was also equally scared of it. Shadow realized this when she asked a certain question that he couldn't help but laugh at.

"Master, can those people see _me,_ like I can see them?"

"No! Of course not!" he told her.

"…Are you _sure_?"

"Yes Rouge, I'm _sure_."

She handed the remote back to him as if it was some disgusting piece of garbage she wanted to get rid of. He suspected that she didn't like the television very much.

"Huh, no wonder you didn't want to watch the T.V. You don't have to if you don't want to. I just figured it was something to do in your free time. I barely watch it anymore; since I'm always so busy working."

"Where do you work?" she asked.

"G.U.N.: The Guardian Unit of Nations. I'm an agent there. Shitty kind of job, but it puts bread on my table." 

"Why aren't you there now?"

"Because I'm watching after you. And when I told you that I had to work you forced me and begged me not to go. Don't you remember?"

"Oh, now I do. When are you going back?" she asked with sadness in her voice, which pained Shadow because he knew she didn't want him to leave.

"I don't know. Whenever you're comfortable with staying here alone. Which may not be for a while. But I have to get back soon. I've been gone for a week already, and I've taken off enough days than I'm allowed to. But, it doesn't matter. I hate that place anyway. They'll probably just cut down my paycheck or something as punishment."

"If you don't like the place, then why do you work there?"

He sighed. "I need the money," was the only response he gave.

"That's it? You only work there for the money?"

"Yep."

"… Makes sense…" And at this they both laughed.

**XXXXX**

The laughing, however, didn't last long. Although they were getting more comfortable with each other, Shadow knew that not everything was A-okay. To start with, Rouge still insisted to sit in the bathroom while he took a shower. That in itself was beyond ridiculous. And it needed to stop before it escalated into something worse. But if she had that much of a fit when she couldn't be in the kitchen with him, then how would she react when he told her she couldn't -?

"Rouge, just wait a minute." They were outside the bathroom in his room, and as he expected, she was right behind him, not giving him any privacy or personal space. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I want you to stay out here while I take a shower."

Already the tears started flowing. "But, but I don't want to! I want to sit in there with you! You always let me do it before! Why can't I do it now?"

"Because its stupid and unnecessary! I understand how you don't want me to be away from you for that long, especially while I'm in a shower and can't get to you if you need me. But you're a grown woman and it isn't right for you to be so attached to me. So just sit out here, okay? Please?"

Rouge could hear the desperation in his voice. Shadow made sure to emphasize how badly he wanted her to listen to him. _If only she could understand that I'm helping her, not punishing her. _

"B-but, you're going to be in there for a long time," she whined, which sent a bullet through the black hedgehog's heart. His showers took about a good half hour, even 45 minutes. So to compensate, he replied, "I'll take a quick shower, I promise I won't be long." She didn't believe him, but she didn't argue either. She simply nodded, looking down, away from him. He planted a small kiss on her lips, and told her again that he wouldn't be too long. And then he left, shutting the door behind him, but keeping it unlocked.

She felt the same way she felt earlier today, when she was alone in the living room, waiting desperately for him to come out of the kitchen. But this time would take longer, she knew this. For a while she simply stood by the door of the bathroom, but knowing it would be futile, she ended up walking around his room in random circles. She could hear the running of the bath water, and it reminded her that Shadow wasn't too far away. Even so, she couldn't help but feeling nervous and scared the entire time, her heart racing in her chest, her eyes targeting any sudden movement, most of which she imagined. _They won't find me here, they don't know I'm here; Shadow won't let them take me away. He won't let them hurt me, _she repeated in her head. After a while she started to feel a little better, and once she heard the bath water stop, she knew he finished and would be coming out soon. It was a whole 30 minutes that she was away from him, the longest she had ever been alone. Was it really only 30 minutes? It didn't seem that long. It was torture, yes, but… she couldn't believe she did it. She actually felt good about herself. She didn't think she would be able to. She thought she would be banging on the door begging him to let her in… but she wasn't. She actually did it. Her nerves started to dissipate and her heart wasn't racing anymore.

And then the phone rang. And she flipped.

As with the T.V., she never heard a phone ring before. She didn't even know what a phone was. Her first instinct was that an alarm went off, and she thought that _they_ had something to do with it. Immediately she ran to the bathroom door, her nerves winning her over and her heart pounding loudly, as she banged on the wood and called for Shadow. He flung the door open, his fur dripping wet, with a towel around his waist. "What, what happened?" he asked Rouge, who was now going into a panic attack.

"There's this weird noise… I don't know what it is… make it stop!"

"Weird noise?" The phone was still ringing, and he heard it coming from the living room. She clung onto him, scared. He realized she was talking about the phone. "Rouge, that's just the phone ringing. Its not going to hurt you. Just calm down."

"But, what's a phone?" she asked, still a little frightened. He told her he would explain later as he walked to the living room, with her still clinging onto his body. Picking up the phone, there was a woman speaking on the other end of it, a voice recording. The woman was from G.U.N. _Great, they must be calling me to tell me my punishment for missing so many days._

Shadow had originally thought that they would simply knock a few bucks off his paycheck or knock him down a lower rank as his punishment.

Instead, the recording told him that he was fired.

**XXXXX **

**A more simple and fun kind of chapter, but also moving the story along. I know I have thrown a lot towards you with the past chapters, and I promise the next ones will introduce some new characters and move the plot along. That's a promise!**

**I am hoping to finish the story by summer, we are hitting the middle of everything right now, and the story will really pick up with the next chapters so I hope you haven't given up on me. This chap was sort of choppy so… things will really heat up soon.**

**So… Shadow's been laid off from his job. How will he react? And Rouge is learning to survive more or less on her own, without depending on Shads for everything. How will things turn out? Stayed tuned!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16 Semi-Life Support Part 2**

"Well… you _did _say that you didn't like it that much." She was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, cleaning up some of the water the hedgehog spilled when he exited the tub in a hurried fashion because he heard her scream. Said hedgehog, meanwhile, was banging his head on the mirror in the bathroom, and before the bangs could draw blood, which they were very close to doing so, Rouge jumped up and brought him away from the mirror. She grabbed him and led him to his bed to sit down. He buried his now throbbing head in his hands, feeling himself getting gradually sicker.

In addition to the door of his bedroom, he would also have to buy a new phone. After listening to the recording telling him he was laid off, he threw it against the wall in anger. It didn't break, despite having a Weapon of Mass Destruction throw the small piece of plastic against a concrete wall, so he stepped on it numerous times, yelling curses towards G.U.N. and screaming in rage, and threw it against the wall again until it cracked and burst into a thousand pieces onto the floor. He left the mess for Rouge to pick up, which she did, the only reason being that she was afraid he might hurt_ her_ if she didn't.

Cursing under his breath he tried to calm himself down for Rouge's sake, because her eyes were getting big and she kept an acceptable distance from him. She sat down next to him on the bed, and slowly put his hand in hers in an attempt to console him. Looking down at the small touch, he said, "Thanks." He would have said more, but his throat was too sore from yelling. "It's my fault," she said sadly. "I shouldn't have made you take off so many days. You wouldn't have gotten fired if-"

"Rouge, don't blame yourself for what I did. I mean, sure, taking off a week did contribute somewhat to my getting fired, but I've been taking days off long before I even knew you. It's _my_ fault." He could see why she would take the blame, but in all honesty, she had nothing to do with it. Even so, he could still see the guilt on her features.

Standing up from the bed he started getting dressed for the night. Because of the phone call he didn't have time to dry himself off so his fur was still damp but he put the clothes on anyway. "Its just…I don't know what I'm going to do now. That job was the only money I had. I'll have to go looking for one…" he said with apathy. He started combing out the mats in his quills but after coming across a particular knot he gave up and slammed the brush onto the bureau. "Why the fuck would they have to fire me NOW? Of all times! I can't fucking stand that place; all those people there are fucking IDIOTS! Goddammit, why did this have to happen to me NOW!" He banged his fists onto the desk and continued cursing G.U.N. and his life.

Rouge was too afraid to try and comfort him now. He was only getting madder. She sat on the bed and let him have his fit, praying to herself that he would stop, soon. She never saw him this angry before, and the angrier he got the worse she felt for him. He stopped soon enough, after tearing up half his room, and sat back down on the bed, falling onto his back carelessly in a defeated manner. He buried his face in his hands again, trying to shut out the world from his view. Rouge scooted closer to him, and slowly removed his hands so she could see his face, and lightly placed a kiss on his lips. There was no underlying meaning for the kiss, but it felt good nonetheless.

"You don't have to take off any days once you find a new job," she said. "After waiting 45 minutes for you to come out of the shower, I've learned that I don't need you constantly around me every minute of my life."

He didn't understand. "But, aren't you afraid of-"

"Yes, of course I am, Master. But I trust you. I know you'll be there if I need you. And I don't want any more misfortune for you. It seems that when I entered your life, although I don't know what you were like before all of this, it seems that everything bad has happened to you, namely losing your job. I don't want to jeopardize your finding a new one."

He could say it million times: she was smart. Sitting up on the bed, he rubbed his temples. "The trouble is, I probably won't find a job. That is, not a good one anyway. But I'm glad you're okay with it."

She slept in his bed that night, even though she told him that she no longer needed to. But Shadow didn't want to separate him and her completely, since she can now tolerate being alone, so he told her that she would always sleep in his bed, and she happily obeyed. He forced himself to forget about G.U.N., because if he kept worrying and thinking about it, it would only drive him mad. So he shoved it out of his mind for the moment and held onto Rouge as he slowly fell asleep.

**XXXXX **

The next day came sooner than it should have, and even though he didn't want to face it, the blinding summer sun shining through his window forced Shadow to wake up. He tried to go back to sleep, but his mind was conditioned to waking up this early, and it wouldn't let him fall back into a slumber. Today was Saturday, and he would've been going to work in an hour. After lying in bed for 20 minutes, with no luck, he sprang off the bed and started getting dressed, letting Rouge sleep in for as long as she wanted to. He couldn't bring himself to wake up her small, quiet, sleeping form. Besides, he had plans for her this afternoon. But he knew that _these _plans in particular were going to be tough. Much harder than simply having her wait in the living room while he was in the kitchen.

He had planned for the two of them to go shopping today.

Of course, it sounds ridiculous, but she needed things that he didn't have, and he couldn't wait to go shopping any longer. The fresh air and the simple thought of being out of the house would do them both good. He didn't want her to remain a shut-in and refuse to leave the house her whole life. No, this simple day out is essential for her. The only problem was that there were two people still looking for her, and God only knows where _they _were. They could be anywhere, and since he doesn't know where they live and how far he is from them, there was barely anything to go on. The only aspect he had to work with was how far Rouge had run from them. She said she ran for hours until her legs simply gave out and she collapsed into that alley. Shadow hoped that she ran far enough, since asking her got him nowhere. For some reason, she continued to hide the names of her torturers from him, despite giving him almost every other piece of information. She kept what must be the most important point of finding out whoever these guys are from him, and he didn't know why. If she decided to tell him everything else, then what made their names and descriptions so different? Regardless, he would just have to risk it. He couldn't hide himself from the public, and for that matter, her either. He deliberately chose to go shopping on a Saturday since there would be bigger crowds of people there unlike going on a weekday. The more people, the less likely he would bump into anyone either of them knew, and the less likely anyone would see _them._ When he told her this plan, she reacted in the way he expected she would.

"What?" she yelled at him, her face growing with terror by the millisecond. "But, I can't go out, Master! What if they see me! They're probably looking for me!"

But he had a comeback. "Well, if you tell me what they look like or give me their names, I'll know if I see them and we can avoid them."

And she completely botched it. Well, she _tried _to. "But… we can just… um. Do we _have_ to go, can't we wait?" she begged.

"Rouge, you don't have any more clothes to wear!" Shadow said. "All the other clothes I have are too big for you and you can't keep wearing clothes without undergarments! You look ridiculous! We are going to the mall today, whether you want to or not!" Mobius Mall was the closest shopping center to his house, only a few miles down. He figured that they could just walk there, since the only vehicle Shadow owned was his motorcycle, and managing to get Rouge onto _that_ would be hell. Besides, it was a warm day out and the mall was in walking distance. The only problem was that he had a stubborn bat to deal with. And even after an hour of persuasion and compromising, she _still _did not want to leave the sanctity of the house. She created excuses, some too dumb to mention, and refused to go outside until finally she gave in. Mostly because Shadow pulled out his gun out of frustration and threatened to shoot her.

It was _supposed_ to be a joke but, let's just say, this bat was more gullible than Knuckles.

**XXXXX **

From the moment their feet hit the driveway and they started walking down the block, Rouge grabbed onto Shadow for dear life. Her eyes shifted back and forth constantly, and any little sound made her jump. She looked behind herself even without provocation, and no amount of consolation from Shadow convinced her that there was nothing to be afraid of. He held her close to him the entire way to the mall, where her condition only grew worse.

Mobius was a pretty big place to begin with, but with the sudden arrival of an Anthropomorphic Aristocratic Government and the addition of slavery, there was a massive growth in the population. Since slaves were forced to breed for procreation, there was an influx in people, disregarding the fact that each of them has a collar around their neck. Anyway, because each person was required to own a slave at the age of 18, the population practically doubled. _Everybody_, every single individual who was 18 or older, was accountable for two people: themselves and their slave, at all times (same principles apply even if you own more than one slave.) Most of the time people brought their slaves with them wherever they went, so you know what that means. A normal crowd at the mall was doubled, and it was seemingly impossible to move around. Normally, Shadow didn't get out much unless it was for work or to get necessities, and even then he wouldn't go into a _mall._ The sight of the public was disgusting, to say the least. Everywhere there were slaves being forced along by their owners, and you can see the pain and sadness in their faces. Public decency was thrown out the window once slavery was established. If a Master wanted he could order his slave to "tend to him" right in the public view, and this happened so often that it became a normal, and even encouraged, act. Fortunately, though, Shadow didn't see many slaves being forced to do these repulsive things today.

Rouge stuck with the mantra "They are going to be here, I know I'm going to see them…" even though Shadow stuck by her the entire time they shopped. Even though he was the only protection she had, he felt pretty useless. Any of these people could be _them_, and he would have no way of knowing unless Rouge told him so.

They managed to find some clothes for her, pants and shirts and whatnot, but when it came to her undergarments Shadow sensed a problem. It would look foolish to stay with her while she bought _those _kinds of items. If he was a slave, he could've gotten away with it, since female Masters usually brought their male slaves with them _wherever _they went. But since the situation was completely switched around, he would have to leave her to do this alone. And when the time came, she went nuts.

"Rouge, I'll only be a couple feet away from you. Really, it won't be that far. Just go find some things, try them on, and come back out." Shadow had planned to go apply for a job at some of the small shops in the mall, which were directly in the same vicinity as her section. But she wasn't sure on being alone, especially in a public area. "But what do I do if I see them?"

"Come find me then. But Rouge, this is the _women's _section! They wouldn't be here!" This convinced her a little bit, and after some good persuasion from Shadow, she left, muttering under her breath "They're going to see me. I know they're going to be here… I know it…"

Shadow stayed outside the section to watch her until she went out of his view, and he left for the small shops to see if anyone would hire him. He felt his stomach cringe in unwanted anticipation.

**XXXXX **

At first, Rouge spent a good 20 minutes simply searching around her section to see if she spotted anyone she knew. She stood alone, holding herself, as her eyes shifted from person to person. Most people simply walked past her, but the few people that noticed the collar around her neck took an interest in her. A very **bad** interest. They looked her over and inspected her entire body, as if she was some product on display. Usually, if slaves were seen alone in a public place, passersby took advantage of it and examined the lone slave to see if they were any _good_ and would typically compare them to their _own_ slaves. Rouge wasn't new to any of this, but that didn't mean she was comfortable with it. She walked away and tried to make herself look like she was doing something.

"Oh God please don't let them be here, please don't let them be here, please don't let them be here," she repeated to herself. She was looking at some brassieres, trying to actually concentrate on the task at hand, but she couldn't stop her eyes from turning back every several seconds. No one was ever there, and eventually she stopped when she went into the dressing room to try some things on. She came back out after a while and started to leave the section with her items. She couldn't help but survey the section as she left, despite what Shadow told her. They wouldn't be here. She knew this, but couldn't convince herself completely. They wouldn't be here, they were _men_. Why would they be in a women's section of the mall? "They won't be here… Master is right… they won't be _here,_" was her new mantra. And she was right to have it. They weren't _here._

But that was when she saw **her.**

She was in the same section as Rouge was, looking at some clothing in the women's section. Her light purple robe hung on her loosely, and the white collar was tied tightly around her neck. She didn't notice the bat staring at her at first. Her amber eyes looked up and burned into light aqua ones. Ears drooped, and her mouth opened slightly as if she was going to say something, but decided against it. She dropped the item in her hand and continued staring at Rouge as Rouge stared at her. For a couple of minutes, they said nothing, but continued staring as if their eyes could burn into each other. Rouges eyes were glued onto the girl as memories from the past flooded her mind. She remembered everything about the girl, everything. And no doubt the girl recognized Rouge. They stared, and stared, and stared. And before any words could be uttered, Rouge ran. She clamped her items in her hands tightly, and ran out, ignoring the people she bumped into and the vulgar words they yelled at her. She ran and ran until she found Shadow, and literally bumped into him. As she could tell, he didn't have any luck at finding a job. But she didn't care about that right now.

"Rouge! What the hell, what are you running for?" Shadow asked. But Rouge couldn't answer him. She was freaking out after seeing that girl. Her mind was shutting down and she couldn't think straight. All she wanted to do was leave. Just get out before… before…

"Rouge, what is the matter? Why are you acting so strange? Please, just SAY something!"

What could she say? How could she say it? What would _he_ say? Would he believe her? Would he be mad at her? Would he help her?

"Rouge?" he grabbed her shoulders and lightly shook her to get her attention. She was staring into space her face painted with absolute fear and once again her eyes shifted back and forth. Tears started coming out of her eyes, and involuntarily she grabbed Shadow's arms and he held her tightly. "Rouge? Please just say something."

She was crying hard now, but managed to compose herself to say this much, "M-master, y-you know… you r-remember when I told you a-about my former Master's lover_?" Oh no. Oh fuck no. _Shadow felt his heart start jumping around in his chest. He nodded.

"Well, about his lover… I…

…_I saw his slave_."

If his heart was racing before he heard this, it literally stopped now. The hands on her shoulders grew tighter and his face spoke of disbelief and fear. She cried into his chest and he held onto her, not caring about the people staring at them. He kept shaking his head. He didn't believe it, he couldn't believe it. After telling her that this wouldn't happen, after thinking that they were safe, after weighing the pros and cons, after making the decision, after everything he did, and now it has all gone to waste. He heart refused to start back up as his mind forced himself to assess the situation. His arms grew tighter around her shaking form. His mouth hung open and he could barely think as he realized what she meant by that one simple statement.

Her former Master's lover was somewhere in the mall.

**XXXXX**__

**Thanks everyone for your lovely reviews! A quicker update, simply because this is such an important chapter. I'm not the kind of person who makes you wait 5 months for an update. ;) Short and sweet chapter, I know. I skimmed on the details only because I wanted to get the real important stuff in. So, her Masters lover is in the mall! And his slave saw her! How will things turn out? Tune in to the next chapter! :)**

On another note, and in a hope to cheer you up from the awful cliffhanger I left you guys ;), who's excited about the new Sonic game, eh? Sonic Generations! It looks amazing! :O Can't wait till it comes out! ^. ^ Also, since I won't see you for a while, I wish you all a good Easter! :) Please Review! 


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17 Darkness Gives Way To Light**

By the time his blood started pumping again and the sick feeling started to dissipate, ideas began to flood his mind almost immediately. A now crying bat was secured in his arms, a fearful look on her face. People were staring, and the last thing the hedgehog wanted was to make a scene, especially under the circumstances that were now surrounding the two of them. Irrationally, he created different plans of escape in his mind, the way he would whenever an alarm went off while he was infiltrating Eggman's base and robots were surrounding him. Run? No. The mall was too crowded and simply dropping his things and running away with her would cause too much confusion. Hide? No, that wouldn't work either. It would be impossible to find a place that wasn't filled with people, and he didn't even know what the people he would be hiding from _looked_ like. His best bet would be to act natural, calm down, buy their things and get the hell out of there. He explained this plan to Rouge, who was so shaken up he doubted she understood most of what he said, but nodded her head in agreement. Pushing her from his arms, since it was unusual for a Master to be _hugging _his property, he gathered up her things from the floor and regained his usual look of indifference and boredom. They acted as if nothing happened, and passersby ignored them, as they started walking toward a nearby cashier to ring up their things. Although his impromptu plan seemed to be going well so far, there was still one thing he needed to know…

Without looking at her, but instead looking directly at the cashier, with a tone of voice that was expected of a brute and powerful Master like himself (regarding what he looked like from the outside), said to her in a voice a little above a whisper, "Rouge, I need to know what _they_ looked like." She didn't dare look up at him, not in the presence of another person, and said, "But… Master…I-"

"Rouge, don't argue with me!" Normally, he wouldn't yell at her, but with being in public surrounded by people who will judge even a small hint of rebellion or difference, he had to keep up appearances for the sake of looking ordinary. Receiving his change and his items he pulled Rouge aside to a semi-secluded area.

"Rouge, please, you_** NEED**_ to tell me what those people looked like. They're probably looking for us now, if she recognized you. Do you think she did?"

"Yes, she did."

"Then I need to know what they looked like. Give me a description of them; tell me what they were wearing. I need to know, otherwise I won't know if I see them. Please, just give me something to work with."

"But, _I_ can tell you when / if I see them," she said hopefully.

He answered with a look of "Do you think I'm stupid?" "Rouge, that's dumb. Just tell me what they looked like!"

After a while of unnecessary thought, she replied, "Okay. I'll tell you." And she described what the girl looked like. Purple robe, white collar, yellow eyes and all. She also described her former Master's lover to him, from what she remembered.

Shadow immediately painted the images in his mind of what the people looked like. Of course, his interpretation of them would be nowhere near as accurate as her version, but he was glad to finally be able to recognize them if he saw them. They departed from their spot and made a quick dash to the door to the outside, constantly looking behind and around them. His hand was clutching hers, most likely stopping any circulation. Rudely shoving past anybody that just so happened to get in their way, they finally made it to the door undetected. The hot summer sun bathed into them the minute they reached the outdoors. They practically ran through the mall since they were in such a rush to get out, so they found a nearby bench to rest on. Her hand was still clasped inside of his, but when he tried to let go she only grabbed it tighter. They sat on the bench for a while, neither of them speaking. They were both still in shock from the events that took place, and their eyes were still surveying the area, despite being outside of the mall.

"You sure it was her?" was the first thing Shadow said. Rouge nodded again, her eyes looking down at nothing in particular, but instead drifting off into space.

Shadow sighed heavily, half out of exhaustion and half out of disappointment. "I'm sorry this happened. I thought we would be safe. Who the hell would have thought that they would be in THERE, of all places? I should've…" He didn't say what he should've done. He apologized again, acting as if the whole thing was entirely his fault.

Changing the subject he asked, "Did you find what you needed then?"

"Yes."

He stood from the bench, stretching. "Well, its almost noon. How about we go get some lunch?"

She wasn't too enthusiastic about the idea, and he knew why. "They're probably still in the mall; I don't see them out here. And I doubt we will bump into them again."

"But, what if they are looking for us? I don't think they saw you, but they will be looking for _me._ She probably told her Master that she saw me, and he will probably tell _**him**_. What am I going to do, Master?"

Pulling her up from the bench he replied, "Hey, don't worry about it." The irony of it was that _he _was worrying himself, but it would be impossible to know if that girl told her Master. He could easily detect if they were being followed, but he doubted they would waste their time trying to find Rouge. "Come on, I know what they look like now, so there's no need to worry. I won't let them do anything to you, you know that. Hell, I'd kick that guy's ass if he tried to even _touch_ you! Besides, we can't hide from them forever, and we certainly aren't going to starve for them either. We'll just get a quick bite to eat and then go home, okay?"

"Okay," she said, her voice still tainted with worry.

**XXXXX**

Fortunately, they didn't reunite with her former Master's lover and his slave. Shadow made sure to find a fast-food restaurant that was miles away from the mall and his house. Through the entire walk there Rouge never let go of Shadow's hand, even though her fear somewhat faded once the mall was behind them and out of their view. Rouge probably saw the hand-holding as a kind of proof that she had protection. Shadow saw it as a victory: it was the longest he ever held anyone's hand in his entire life.

Once they ordered their food and sat down to eat, the black hedgehog was faced with yet another problem. People were staring, people he didn't even know. He looked around himself to try and detect whatever they were looking at. They squinted their eyes and turned up their noses and some even made some sly remarks, scoffing and whispering to one another. What was he doing wrong? He looked at Rouge, who didn't even notice the people staring and was busy eating. And then he noticed the loose leash that was attached to her collar. He had attached the leash right before they left the house, since it was required for a slave to wear one outside. It hung from her neck onto the table. This was what the people were looking at. But why were they looking at a leash? He looked around at some of the other people who owned slaves and quickly realized what he had done wrong. At every table, the slave's leash was tied off at a small metal hook which was attached to the end of the table. The hook was attached to every table, Shadow's including, and they were even attached to the walls of the building, placed at random intervals. Most of the slaves' collars were tied off so tightly it forced them onto their knees onto the floor, barely being able to move their neck, let alone _eat_ anything. Shadow immediately assessed his transgression and grabbed Rouge's leash, tying it off as loosely as possible so she would still be able to move pretty freely.

"Sorry, I didn't know I had to do that…" Like with everything else, he never had experience with bringing a slave outside, and what the rules of a fast-food restaurant would be for them. He thought the whole thing was stupid, but Rouge didn't seem to even care. She was almost finished with her meal, in contrast to Shadow who didn't even _start _yet. She finished eating in merely seconds, and waited patiently for the hedgehog to finish.

"Her name is Blaze." Shadow looked up at once, food falling out of his mouth. "You're talking about that girl?" he asked.

"Yes. She's 16, I think. Its been a couple of years since I last saw her. She was my Masters' lovers' slave when my Master and him got together." Shadow had a quizzical look on his face. "He's bisexual," she explained simply. "That's why he had a boyfriend, yet had a female slave. It was disgusting. I didn't like it. But that was the least of my worries, anyway. When I met her, my Master and hers made us… do things… to each other." She put her head down in embarrassment of saying this. But Shadow urged her on. This was the most she told him without him having to beat it out of her first. He didn't want her to stop now.

"But, Rouge, you said that you were only a kid when your Master got a boyfriend. They made you two "do things" at that young of an age?"

"Our age didn't matter to them, as long as it made them happy. She didn't want to do things with me, and when she said so to her Master, he beat her until she complied. She was only about 8, and I was 10, when I first met her. After that we were forced to do terrible (and inappropriate) things to each other whenever they wanted us to. When we got a little older, I saw her less and less, until her Master didn't bring her over anymore. And then I ran away. And now she saw me, and she probably told her Master, and he will probably tell _my_ Master, and then…" She put her head on the table. Again Shadow told her not to worry, though it didn't exactly matter much.

They left the restaurant, and went home. The day had been drawn out so badly, even though it was only 1:00 o'clock. After she put away her new clothes Rouge asked Shadow if she can take a nap. He could see the fatigue in her eyes, and how the stress of the day's events took their toll on her. He said yes, but before she left, he stopped her.

"Rouge, I know you're going to hate me for this, but what happened today-"

"What about what happened today?" she asked, the fear and worriment returning to her face.

"What happened today was too close a call to ignore."

"What do you mean, Master?"

"I mean that your Master's lover _will _most likely tell your Master that his slave saw you. I know, its scary to think about, but its the truth. We can't be too simple-minded about this. I promised that I would protect you and keep them away from you, and I plan to keep that promise. But to keep it, there's something I need to know."

She asked what that "something" was, but the look on her face told Shadow that she already knew.

"I need to know their names," he said, his tone of voice completely serious.

"… Whose names?" she asked stupidly.

"You know whose names."

**XXXXX **

"Why do you insist on telling me that I don't need to know the names?" They have been arguing for almost a half hour. For a slave, she was persistent. Using the dumbest, let alone inadequate, excuses she could come up with she refused to reveal the names of her former Master and his lover. With every reason she gave, and she gave a good 30 of them, it never answered the question of why the names didn't seem to matter anymore, when in fact they were the only reason Shadow wasn't going to the police and turning them in. True, he did know the description of one of them, but that wasn't good enough. He needed to know the names.

He begged, and pleaded, and did whatever else he could. And eventually, she gave in.

"Okay," she said, "I'll tell you the names." And she told them to Shadow. Of course, he never heard of those names before, but he was so content with finally having them that he didn't care. He even took out a pen and paper and wrote them down.

"Why didn't you want to tell me the names before?" he asked.

Rubbing her eyes to emphasize her sleepiness, she ignored the question and asked, "Can I go to bed now, please?"  
_  
No. I want an answer to my question. _He really didn't want her to leave, but he couldn't withhold sleep from her, so he nodded and she left. _Guess I'll have to ask her later, and God knows how I'll get _that_ answer._

He stared at the names scribbled onto the paper. He outlined the pen marks with his finger, as if they were imaginary and he needed proof to know that they were actually there. The first rational thought that crossed his mind was to tell the police the names and her story. But for now, he shoved the idea to the back of his mind. Although he wanted nothing more than justice for this girl, he also wanted a little history of these two people, the latter of which won him over.

Slavehouse's would usually create records of every slave who lived there, and every Master who bought from them. The records used to be kept at the SH itself, in paper documents, but with the rise of technology the records were now kept on the SH's own website, so buyers could browse through "selections." Shadow wasn't sure of the SH Rouge had come from, but there weren't that many SH's around the area anyway. Before he turned them in, he wanted to see if there were any records of these two.

**XXXXX**

Rouge fell down onto the bed in exhaustion, hoisting her head onto the pillow. When she looked closely at the pillow she could see small pieces of black fur on it. Unquestionably it was Shadow's fur. Picking it up in her hand she felt it in-between her un-gloved fingers. It was soft, yet coarse, just like the rest of the black fur on his body. The only soft spot was the white fur on his chest. She's cried into it and slept in it enough times to know. Turning onto her back she stared up at the ceiling. Although her eyes were drooping and her body wanted to disintegrate, she didn't fall asleep.

_I'll just have another nightmare,_ she thought to herself. _ Then I'll scream and he'll get worried and run to me. I hate bothering him like this. But why do I keep having nightmares_?

She trusted Shadow, that much was true. She trusted him with all that she had. She trusted him with her life. Literally.

Putting a hand to her chest she felt her heart pounding, hard and fast. Was she still scared from the events that happened today? Shadow told her not to worry. She believed him, but a small part of her still doubted his sincerity. She was torturing herself like this, letting her fear overcome her 24/7. It was impossible to stop. The hedgehog helped her a lot, with his kindness and care, but the horror of the future, the inevitable future, took over her, every time. The anxiety made her sick, the future was tormenting her, and what happened today was the icing on top. She couldn't take it anymore. But there was nothing she could do. Not anymore, anyway.

Her eyelids fell down, but her mind was wide awake, pushing sleep away. Random thoughts were flying through her mind, fighting for her attention. How much her life had changed within a week. She never thought she would meet anyone as nice as Shadow. Her life before was filled with torture and pain. Now it had changed. For the better. This was her last thought before she fell asleep.

**XXXXX**

There weren't any. That was the conclusion he came to after an hour of searching through every SH in the area, and even some that _weren't_ in the area. He searched anything and everything, yet ended with nothing. He banged his head on the desk in frustration, giving up whatever hope he had. _Well, at least I can still turn them in. I wish I had pictures of them though… _

Leaving the computer he walked to his room where Rouge was sleeping soundly. He sat on the edge of the bed and watched her sleeping form. She looked younger asleep, and even with the scars on her face, it still looked beautiful. A cautious hand ran through her short white hair, soft yet thick. He couldn't stop looking at her, how pretty she looked, even though she was broken inside. He stayed for a while longer, half of him hoping she would wake up, and his other half wishing that she didn't, and both halves would be happy either way.

_She's so gorgeous; I can't stop staring at her. Why am I so infatuated with her? I've only known her for a week, yet…_ The feeling that soared through him right now was almost unbearable. It was so different and new, and he didn't trust it.

The first time he ever felt the feeling was when he met Maria. Oh, how this girl reminded him of her! They didn't even look alike, yet he saw Maria in Rouge. Her blonde hair in contrast to Rouge's white. Her deep blue eyes to Rouge's turquoise. One thing that was the same was their sweet voices, and the way they talked to him.

It was painful. He forced Maria out of his mind long ago. He didn't think of her, he didn't talk of her. When his mind brought back the image at any given time, he shoved it out, even though he wanted it to stay. He couldn't think about her.

It would be agonizing.

But this girl brought the image back so often that it was impossible to ignore. Out of all the people that could've come into his life, why did _she_ have to? His mind was constantly thinking about both of them, all the time. This feeling… was overwhelming. And controlling. Forcing his eyes away from her would only bring them back to her beautiful face. Ignoring the feeling only made it stronger. And denying the fact that he was developing feelings for her only made the truth more obvious.

**XXXXX**

**:) That last piece was cute, huh? Lol Sensitive Shadow, he has feelings too! :p**


	18. Chapter 18

**Warning: This chapter contains very graphic and gruesome material (same warning as chapter 8). It contains torture, mature themes, and things you might not be comfortable reading. There isn't any sex in it, but still. Read at your own risk. And no, this isn't the last chapter. The title is a little misleading, I know.**

XXXXX

Chapter 18 Final Life Support

She was here before. The disgusting stench of the room, the lone light bulb shining brightly in the dark, the shivering of her naked body, and the occasional bang on the floor, outside of the cell she was in, something like footsteps, coming toward her but never quite reaching her, was all coming back to her clouded mind. Except that this time was a little different. Instead of a cold metal table underneath her she was sitting on her butt on an equally cold, dirty floor. Her arms were shackled to the wall, a short chain hanging from the loop which was drilled into the wall, so short that her arms couldn't be put down, but instead hung loosely. The power in her arms had given out long ago and now all that was holding them up was the chain, digging into her skin. Would her wrists start bleeding soon enough from the heavy and sharp cuff? Yes, probably, and she was aware of this. But her mind was so lost and unclear that she didn't care. It was the drugs that got her into this state of mind. Drugs. It was always the drugs. They had so many of them, and they gave them to her all the time. They laughed when they gave them to her, telling her lies that she foolishly believed. She was scared. She had every right to be. She had only woken up but a few minutes ago, and didn't have any knowing of how long she had been here. Sleep would not come back to her, no matter how hard she tried, so she was forced to remain in her reality. Reality. It was more of a nightmare than a reality. ****

Like before, like every other time, the door of her cell opened, revealing the same person. _Funny_, she thought, _last time both of them came into my cell._ Suddenly, a dark figure came up behind the first figure. This new figure was holding the collar of a smaller and darker figure. Even though the figures were shrouded in darkness, since the light bulb was on the other end of the room and not near them, Rouge could make out all of them. The first figure, her Master, the second one, his lover, and the third one, his lovers slave. The second figure whispered something to her Master, they both laughed evilly, and his lover left, dragging along a frightened and weak slave girl behind him.

_No_, Rouge thought, _don't leave me here alone with him._ Despite the fact that her Masters lover wouldn't stop her Master from torturing her, she felt somewhat better when there was another person in the room. She didn't want to be alone with _him_. She didn't want to be _here_. Her Master walked into the room, closing the door behind him. He walked slowly toward her, and the closer he got the more she tried to melt into the wall. He unhooked the chain connecting her to the wall. Standing over her he kicked her in the ribs and she doubled over in pain. He kicked and kicked over and over, and she howled in pain, begging him to stop. This pain, which was added to the pain she was already feeling, flowed through her body. She felt it everywhere.

"Dumb fucking bitch!" he screamed at her, continuing to kick her. "You can't do anything right! I should've never bought you! You're just a fucking waste of my time." These words that he told her hurt her more than whatever pain she was feeling on the outside. He said these things every day, and they burned into her skin. It hurt to hear him say these horrible things to her. She had loved him, he was so good to her, and she took all of that for granted. His kindness died a long time ago, along with whatever love she had for him.

"Please, Master, I'm sorry!" she begged. She didn't exactly know what she was sorry for. Sorry for being a slave? Sorry for being useless? Sorry for simply _existing_? Angry, he picked her up by her battered black collar and forced a kiss onto her lips, biting them. She whimpered and tried to get away, but he kept a firm grip on her. Moving down he bit her neck and lapped the blood that oozed out. Shoving a hand in her abused opening her screamed at her, "You are nothing but a dirty piece of shit to me!"

"Master, you're hurting me, please stop!"

"Shut up you fucking bitch! You're nothing! You're completely useless!" He continued screaming obscenities at her, while tears rolled down her face and her cries begged him to stop. As if a ragdoll he threw her to the floor, and simply stared at her trembling form. Sitting up she grabbed the arm she fell on and bent over to try and ease the pain particularly in her ribs. He felt himself getting aroused. Oh, how he loved seeing her like this. Completely at his mercy. Sobbing and begging for him to stop. He loved the rush that came with his dominance over her. It was like a drug. His drug. And he was addicted to it. Addicted to seeing her in pain, addicted to hurting her, humiliating her. She was his. _**His**_.

Smiling at the scene that played out before him, he walked over to his abused slave and knelt down so he was face to face with her. She tried backing away, but he grabbed a handful of her white hair and slammed her face against the wall of the cell, holding her in place. Grinning at his frightened pet he said, "How about we play a game, little Rougey?"

Games. He loved playing games. One of his favorite games was cutting random parts of her body, pouring saltwater over the freshly made cuts, raping her, re-opening the cuts that he just applied, and watching as she slowly lost consciousness and passed out from blood-loss. And that game was one of the less cruel games that he played.

"N-no," Rouge said. "I d-don't want to p-play a game, M-master." Her mind, cloudy and blurred, thought back to all the games that he forced her to play. Slamming her head against the wall again, her Master replied, "Oh, but this game is going to be fun!" He said this in a dark sarcastic voice that sent chills up her spine. "You'll really like this game, little Rougey." He licked the tears that were stained on her face.

"Please, Master. I don't want to play any games…" she whimpered.

Looking back toward the door of the cell, in the direction of which his lover and his slave left, he said, "You know what, I don't want to be selfish. It doesn't seem fair to play this game with just the two of us…" He smiled a toothy smile, showing his sharp fangs. His eyes burned into hers, and she wanted to get away so badly, but it was futile. She knew what he was planning. _ No, don't bring them back; I don't want them to play the game too._

"Yes, I've been very selfish, keeping you all to myself. How about we invite _Blaze_ to play with us?"

She played "games" with Blaze before. That would've been okay. At least, better than the alternative. _I'll play the game, I'll play the game with her, _Rouge thought desperately, even though actually saying this would've done her more good._ Just don't say _his_ name, don't say _his _name. I don't want _him_ to play too. _"Hmm, that still seems a bit selfish," her Master said fake-ly, as if he was actually thinking this through. "I know!" _Oh no_… Rouge thought. "I know!" her Master repeated. "We can invite Master Si-"  
**  
XXXXX** __

She woke up to a patch of black fur. There was an arm on her shoulder, the other arm wrapped around her waist. The thing next to her was giving off heat, but the warmth was comforting, and almost made her forget about the nightmare she just had.

Almost.

Eagerly, she shook Shadow awake. Her hands were trembling, but surprisingly she wasn't crying. The dream swam around in her mind, and she ran through every detail, simply because she wanted to remember everything in order to tell Shadow about it. The more she thought about it, the worse she felt, and the fear that grew bigger and bigger made her shake Shadow awake even harder. She felt the fear dissolve only slightly when those blood red eyes came into view.

"Rouge?" Shadow asked, still half asleep. He didn't know that he fell asleep. The last thing he remembered was him looking down at her soundly sleeping, caressing her short hair, and thinking about Maria. Sitting up, he looked at his slaves face, stricken with fear.

"You had a nightmare, didn't you?" he asked. She nodded, moving closer to him. As if the recollection of the nightmare wasn't enough, she felt so terrible having to wake him up. But her inconvenience will not be in vain. She planned to tell him everything about the dream. _Everything._

She explained every detail of the nightmare to Shadow. As said before, she had these nightmares every time she fell asleep, some worse than others. This one wasn't too particularly bad. Usually her nightmares would be a foreshadow of what would happen if/when her Master found her and took her back. Those dreams were regularly filled with punishment, torture, and her dying in the end. This dream that she had today was more of a memory than a prediction of the future. In fact, the dream was an actual event that happened earlier in her life. The whole incident was exactly as her dream played it out, but of course there was more to it. It cut off when she woke up. But she didn't tell Shadow that her dream didn't finish. She told him what happened after that, since she remembered the _real_ occurrence.

After the whole story, Shadow honestly had to swallow down his vomit after hearing the horrible details of the dream.

"Rouge, why did you let them do these things to you?" It was a useless thing to say, since being a slave meant you had no control over what others did to you. But what else could he say?

"I begged him to stop. But begging was all I could do. And that didn't work. Master, there was nothing I could do! … Maybe suicide?"

"NO, let's not go as far as killing yourself." He couldn't help but think to himself that suicide was actually a pretty good option in her circumstance. But he didn't tell her this.

"Master, why do I keep having these nightmares? I can't sleep when I have them. They're making me sick. I can't stand them! Please make them stop!"

"Rouge, I can't make them stop! You know that!" He felt for her. He himself had nightmares all the time, but he had dealt with them for so long that he had learned how to restrain them and not have them control his life. But she wasn't as strong as he was, mentally and physically. It was impossible for him to stop the nightmares. She had to stop them herself.

"All I think about is them. All the time, my mind wanders back to them," she said. "I believe that you will protect me, I do, but that small part of me still sticks to the thought that they will come and find me. I constantly worry about what they will do to me. And I also think about what they've _already _done to me."

He grabbed her small body in his arms and held her close. "Those fuckers had no right to treat you like that. Don't worry, Rouge, once we turn them into the police this whole thing will be over." It sounded like a good plan, but he knew it would take time before this whole thing could be forgotten and they could live normal lives. Then again, that was the future. Right now, he needed to worry about the present.

After a period of silence, Rouge broke it by asking, "Did you do it?" _She must mean did I turn them in, _he thought. He explained to her what his plan was and what he was trying to do this whole time before he decided to turn them in.

So Rouge asked, "Did you find anything on them then? I mean, things that I didn't already tell you?" He shook his head. "There was absolutely no record of them at all. I thought I could at least get some information on them before I turned them into the police."

"Well, I told you everything _I_ know about them, Master. And that wasn't very much either."

"Don't feel bad," he said. "You were the most help I got. I guess I'm just gonna have to turn them in without knowing who they really are." He sighed in disappointment. A short strand of hair fell from her forehead, and he pushed it back in place. She took his hand in hers and removed his signature gloves. Since his hands were covered with gloves most of the time, his hands weren't the _nicest_ around, with the fur underneath being ruffled and semi-matted, and his claws, once unsheathed, were long and as sharp as razors.

"You have big hands," she told him. Wasn't exactly the most charming thing you would want a girl to say to you, but Shadow took it as a compliment nonetheless. Her hand moved from his hand to his chest, running through his fur, not in a "sexual" way, but more of an "exploring" type way, as if she was feeling fur for the first time. Locking onto his red eyes she said, "You're very handsome."

"Um… thanks?" was all he could say. He felt his heart pounding loudly and his blood boil rapidly. It was so weird hearing someone say these things to him, especially with that someone being such a beautiful girl. Secretly, he wanted her "evaluation" of him to continue. However, she sensed his outer uneasiness and removed her hand from his body.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to invade your privacy like that. Its just, I only knew 2 men in my life, and they don't really count since…" She didn't need to go on, given that both of them knew where she was going with this. "You're so nice to look at."

"God, I think you're the first, and probably the only and last, person in the world to say that to me. Anyway, I don't mind, but keep it PG alright?" The last thing he wanted was for her to try and get him_ aroused_ again. What a nightmare that would be.

Not surprisingly, she was all ready to make it R rather than PG. "But don't you want me to do anything for you?" Same question, always that question. He didn't like saying no to her, but he also didn't want to go in _that_ direction with her again, since the first time they experimented with that aspect blew up in their faces. He tried to think of something she can do for him quickly.

"Well, there is one thing you can do for me." She perked up when he said this, eager to do something for her Master. More specifically, eager to do something _sexual _for her Master_._

"Yes?"

"You can get me a cup of water," he said.

**XXXXX**

The look of dissatisfaction on her face made him smile, even though he felt somewhat guilty for getting her hopes up over nothing. She got him the water and sat back down, sighing huffily. Shadow saw this as an opportunity to stress something that's been on his mind for a while.

"Not to sound like an ass, Rouge, but why are you constantly trying to do sexual things to and/or with me?"

"I've told you before Master. Its what I was raised to do. Ever since I was little I was told that my only purpose for _living_ was to serve other people."

"But, you know deep down that that philosophy is wrong, right?" He knew that she was too smart to actually believe all of the nonsense the government poured out.

"Yes, I know that its wrong, but I'm not allowed to think like that. I know what I am, what they taught me to be, and that's how I'm supposed to live. I'm a slave, and just like every other slave, I have rules to follow. I don't like the rules, no one does, but I don't have a choice."

"But Rouge," Shadow said, "you're different from the other slaves. You know of a better life, a life where you aren't owned by another person. A life where you have control over your own thoughts and body. Don't you dream of that life and wish you could live it?"

"What good is dreaming about it if I know I can never have it? I can't live my life on a dream that won't ever come true." Despite the conversation taking a deadly and depressing turn, she wasn't crying. Instead, she was rather distraught. His words worked their way into her, burying themselves in her skin.

"Besides, I don't need to dream of a better life. Because I already have one." She looked up at him, and he suggested that she was talking about their life together. "It isn't a perfect life, I know, buts its better than the life I lived before." That really got to him, as cheesy as it sounded. For the first time, he actually felt 100% good about finding her in that alley.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked. He nodded, eager to find out what she had to ask. "Do you… _love_… me?" And somehow that eagerness instantly disappeared. What did she mean, did he love her? They didn't know each other for that long. Of course he had feelings for her, but were those feelings actual, pure **love**? And, could she have that feeling for him too? These questions were all swimming around in his head. He didn't know how to answer any of them.

Above all, he had to answer honestly. "Well, Rouge, um, no I don't LOVE you. I mean, regarding the technical sense of _love_." From her facial expression he could tell she was confused. "I mean, not like a boyfriend and girlfriend love. I do love you-"

"You just said you didn't love me. Which one is it?"

_Dear God._ "I do love you, but not like "actual" love. Not like the kind of love a boyfriend or girlfriend show each other, or a husband and wife."

"So you don't love me? Or, do you love me in a different way."

"Oh God, how do I explain this to you? Ok, how about this? I do have feelings for you, but those feelings aren't exactly love."

"Then what are they?" she asked.

"There somewhere in between friendship and love." He didn't even understand what he meant by that, and neither did Rouge, so he changed the subject before things got even weirder.

"Do you have feelings for me?" he asked.

"What kind of feelings, Master? The feelings you have for me, or the feelings of real love?"

"Whichever."

She thought about the question, and told Shadow, "I really do like you, in the kind of way that you like me. So I guess I have the same feelings for you as you do with me."

That made sense, but even so he didn't want this conversation to continue, so he told her he was going back on the computer to try and find any information on these guys. Even though the first try failed, he figured he would keep looking until he completely exhausted the option.

"Before you leave, could you make me something to eat, I'm starving," she said.

_We only ate like a few hours ago, and she's hungry again?_ "You can make something on your own, Rouge, you don't have to always ask me."

"But I don't know how to use anything in the kitchen." He hadn't thought about that. He should've showed her how to use a stove or at least the microwave, but he didn't. "Alright, I'll show you," he said.

**XXXXX**_****_

After a thorough speech over "Safety in the Kitchen" he was finally able to get back online and research the names again. He was determined to try and find these names. Shouldn't there be any record of them at all? Even Shadow had his own record online due to G.U.N. recording everybody's information and keeping them in records which anyone, G.U.N. employee or not, could easily hack into. Almost everybody in Mobius had some sort of record on them.

Then a thought hit him. Maybe the names weren't real? Maybe Rouge just made them up? Maybe these people didn't even exist, and Shadow was doing all of this for nothing? He doubted that Rouge would still be lying to him, after how long they've been together. But it was a possibility.

Speaking of the devil, the white bat walked in just then, holding a plate in one hand and a sandwich (a second one she made on her own) and sat down on the bed a few inches behind him. "Did you find anything?" she asked.

His skepticism won him over, and ignoring her question he asked, "Rouge are you sure that these are the correct names?"

"Yes, why?" she asked, taking a bite out of her sandwich.

"Because I haven't found anything on them at all. They should at least have some sort of record on them; I have a record and so do you. But they don't have anything."

"You think I lied about the names, Master? Because those are the real names."

"That's funny," he said, turning around in his chair to come face to face with her. "Because the name of your Master starts with an M is that correct?"

"Yes," she said, finishing her sandwich.

"But, the brand on your ankle is a N. Did he brand you with an N on purpose, for some other reason, or did someone else brand you altogether?" He sounded like a lawyer, asking all of these specific questions.

Her eyes moved down to her ankle, and she brought up the pants covering it. Indeed, as it was before, it was in the shape of an N. How was she going to explain that?

Sighing, she said, "The names are their actual names, I didn't lie about that. But I did lie about the brand…

"His name does start with an M. But the brand on my ankle is an N because the last line of the M didn't burn into my skin as vividly as the other lines did. He did brand me with an M, but you could only see it if you know that the last line is there. If you look closer, you can see the line, though it's a really hard to see."

Shadow looked once again at the brand on her ankle. Sure enough, when he squinted his eyes, there was an extremely faint line right next to the last line of the N, the line that stood vertical. If you put the last line, the one that was slightly slanted, the N turned into an M (A/N: don't use the computer font as a guide, draw an N and M with your finger.) This whole time the brand was an M.

"Why did you lie to me, Rouge?"

"I didn't think the brand mattered much. But I'm sorry."

The only conclusion that came from this was that now he knew the names were real. But that didn't help much when after another half hour of looking, he still came up with nothing.

"Maybe there isn't anything on them, Master."

"There has to be something."

And there was.

After hours of searching, hacking, typing, and even Google-ing, he found a small document. It was on some stupid website that was in some crazy language. Shadow only knew English and Japanese, but he clicked on it anyway. The site was filled with pictures and links, and any bit of information on it was impossible to find. The only things that were in English were the names underneath the pictures of Mobians. Most looked very old and either hiked up on drugs or sickness, but then he found two pictures of people who looked relatively youthful. Unfortunately, there were no names underneath the pictures. Rouge described her Master and his lover as being pretty young, and since these people were the only ones on this site that looked young, he decided to print the pictures out and show them to Rouge.

Rouge had stayed up with Shadow for as long as she could, until she crashed onto his bed and fell asleep again. Before, he didn't want to wake her, since she looked like an angel asleep. But this time, he shook her awake immediately.

"Rouge wake up, I have to show you something."

She woke up, her eyes half-open. "Master, what's wrong?"

He explained what he found. Then he showed her the pictures. Her eyes flew open once she saw the photos he printed out, and she only looked at them for a second before he turned away and covered her eyes.

"Rouge, is it them?" He figured from the look on her face the minute she saw them that she recognized the people.

Tears where in her eyes already. "Yeah its them. Take it away, I don't want to see them! Just put it away!"

"But are you sure its them!"

"Yes, I'm sure! That's them. Take it away please, I don't want to look at them!"

Shadow studied the pictures intently, looking over every feature of the two Mobians. He found them, he finally found them. He took the paper that he wrote their names on, and put it underneath the photos. The photos lined up with the person's name.

The photo on the left, the one he suspected to be her Master's lover, had the name underneath that read:

**SILVER**

And the photo on the right, the one he suspected to be her former Master, had the name underneath that read:

**MEPHILES**

**XXXXX **

**... To be continued. **


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19 Trying To Forget**

He wasn't sure how long he had held the paper in his hands, but by the way it was wrinkled and how much of his sweat had seeped into it, he must've not let it go since he printed the paper out. Not a moment went by where he didn't study the pictures in aggression, his eyes refusing to blink as they examined the faces of his slave's torturers, looking over and taking in every feature the two represented.

The picture on the left, Silver, depicted a young hedgehog, perhaps Shadow's age, maybe a little older, with white fur and piercing gold eyes. He was frowning in the picture, as was Mephiles, and the smirk on his face intensified the fact that he was sadistic and cruel. Yet, even though the white hedgehog's description was intimidating enough to make even the Ultimate Life Form cringe slightly, it was nothing compared to what Rouge's former Master looked like.

What bothered Shadow the most was that Mephiles looked almost exactly like him. His features were almost identical to Shadow's, apart from the highlights on his fur, which were grey, and his eyes, which were a snake-like green. Other than that this hedgehog resembled Shadow in demeanor, such as an indifferent and bored look on his face, and other physical features. It was no wonder why Rouge was so scared of Shadow when he first brought her here. He could easily pass for this guy at a glance. The black hedgehog actually felt kind of bad for scaring Rouge like that when they first met. Of all the people Shadow could resemble in the world, why did it have to be this guy?

Another thing that struck him as odd was that, despite it being a small picture, Shadow could see blood and scars on Mephiles's face and arms. The way he was frowning made his teeth show, and his fangs had blood on them as well. He looked like the epitome of an evil, disgusting, intimidating, and heartless brute. Angry from looking at the photo for so long Shadow tossed it aside, and turned it over to refrain from looking at their faces.

One question he couldn't help but repeat over and over in his mind was what were those men doing on that website in those photos? The website wasn't in a language he could understand, unfortunately. Maybe Rouge would know why? He doubted it, and asking her would've been a dead-end anyway. After seeing the pictures of the two hedgehogs for the first time since she ran away, she broke down and started crying, and ran into the bathroom in his room and locked the door. Shadow honestly didn't think that the pictures would scare her as much as they did, but they must've brought back the bad memories of when she was with them. In retrospect, it has only been a little over a week since she last saw them. But apparently they affected her much more than they should have.

Anyway, he figured his only option would be to get back on that website, since it was the only place that he could find them on. But before he did, he needed to check on Rouge. She was still in the bathroom, and he could hear her still sobbing.

This bat liked locked doors. Even after pleading with her to open up, she refused him. He gave up and decided it wasn't that big of a deal, and asked her through the door, "Are you okay in there?"

She answered him with a question. "Where are the pictures?"

Shadow knew better than to leave them hanging around. "I hid them," he said. There was more he wanted to say, but didn't, and instead replied, "Just come out soon, okay?"

She didn't reply, but the blowing of a nose on the other side of the door told Shadow that she heard. _She needs time_, he told himself. _Hell,__** I**__ need time too_. The faces of the two hedgehogs were now forever glued into his mind, and whenever he closed his eyes he saw those faces, staring back at him. He could genuinely say that the pictures did indeed scare – no, um, _**shock**_, - him when he first glanced at them. He wasn't afraid of them or anything. But they made him feel a bit…_uneasy. _

**XXXXX**

Splash. Splash. Splash. No matter how many times he threw water onto his face, the images still appeared in his mind. He looked up from the sink and stared at himself in the mirror. His face was wet, his arms were semi-wet, his eyes were red, muzzle tan, expression indifferent and serious, mouth slightly closed, and ears pointing upward. And his highlights were grey.**  
**

SPLASH. He looked up again. Now, his face was wetter, arms fully wet, eyes a darker yet normal red, muzzle tan and wet, expression indifferent and serious and now perplexed, mouth slightly opened, ears pointing downward slightly, highlights red. And his white puff of fur on his chest was around his neck.

**SPLASH!** He looked up again. His face was still wetter with water dripping off, arms soaked, eyes a very dark red, muzzle tan and wetter, expression indifferent and serious and perplexed and now desperate, mouth opened all the way, ears pointing down all the way, highlights red, white puff of fur only on chest and not around neck. And after a blink, which couldn't have lasted more than half a second, he saw Mephiles and Silver in his reflection.

_NO! NO! Why do I see them in my reflection! I am NOT them! NOT THEM!_

He banged his forehead on the mirror and stayed in that uncomfortable position for a while. He couldn't get them out of his mind. Why did he see them? Why were they in the mirror? Why were they his reflection? They didn't even know him, yet he was seeing himself in their image. He had to get them out of his head.

His stomach grew sick when he thought about them. He looked so much like them… they appeared everywhere… and he didn't understand _why_. Could it be because he looked at the faces for so long, and how after you look at them your mind still sees them, even though you aren't looking at them anymore? Could it be because he looked like them on the outside, and his mind was picturing what he would look like if they were fused together with him? It was insane.  
"This needs to stop," Shadow said to himself, more like a demand than a statement. "There's no reason as to why I keep picturing them in my head. They don't know me. They aren't me. They look like me, but that is all. So why do I…" He looked in the mirror once more. This time… he saw himself. Simply himself, with nothing out of place. "This needs to stop," he repeated. He went to the drawer of his dresser in which he hid the pictures in, and took the paper and ripped it up, and threw the loose strands of paper away.  
**  
XXXXX **

He asked again, "Do you want to know who they are?"

"I already know who they are, Master."

"I mean, what they were before you knew them."

She thought about what he just said. "I know what they were before."

"You do? Well, what were they?"

"They were younger."

(Sweat drop) "That isn't what I meant, Rouge."

Fortunately, the website where he found the pictures had a small but significant section which was in English. After an hour of trying to forget about the photos and focus more on the concept of _who they are_ instead of _what they look like_, Shadow finally managed to muster up enough courage to get back on the website and look for information on them. Rouge, meanwhile, had finally come out of the bathroom, and Shadow found her looking for the pictures.

"I tore them up and threw them away. I couldn't stand looking at them either. You okay?"

"Are they still on the computer?" she asked.

"Well yeah, they're still on the computer. I can't take them off of that. But the page with their pictures isn't up." He had been reading up on the only English section on the website, and it wouldn't let him translate any other part. The section was only an introduction and preview of what the website had to offer.

It was a pornography site.

"Why would they be on that site?" she asked Shadow, after he explained what porn is to her.

"I have no idea. There's still more to read on the site, which I'm gonna do right now. Like I said, their photos aren't up, so if you want to stay…"

She thought about it. "Yeah, I guess I'll stay. I would like to know why they are on that site." She took a seat next to him.

Logging back onto the computer he said, "Porn stars were the last thing I thought they would be. Did you think he was in the pornography business when he bought you?"

She shook her head. "He didn't look like it. He could've been, though. Come to think of it, he never told me where he worked when I lived with him. Maybe that was where he found… _Silver_." The tone of her voice when she said his name was painted with malice and anger. Shadow raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I hate saying his name. He was the reason why my Master abused me. He ruined my life."

"Well, it is a pretty stupid name," he said jokingly.

He let her read the information he found in English, but she stopped halfway because what the section said was so appalling and vile. Not only was the site about porn, but about _bondage porn_. Again he had to explain to her (as much as he didn't want to) what bondage meant. What was ironic is that, even though she wasn't sure what bondage meant, she's been living in it her entire life. Anyway, the site was so degrading and filled with debauchery both Shadow and Rouge exchanged abhorrent looks.

"Why would people do things like that to other people?" she asked him.

"The same reason they treated you the way they did. Doesn't that stuff seem familiar to you?"

"That's… what they did to me… isn't it?" She didn't seem to think that bondage and slavery was the same thing. She also didn't think that the stuff on the website was anything like the stuff that Mephiles and Silver did to her, when in fact it was exactly the same.

"The only difference is that the people on this site do this kind of stuff for money, or because they get a sexual thrill from it. They did those things to you because they wanted to hurt you and make you suffer, and they wanted to feel powerful because of it. You didn't get paid for that kind of stuff, did you?"

"No."

"And you certainly didn't get a thrill from it?"

"No way."

"You see, that's the only difference."

He searched the site further to see if there were any other parts translatable into English, but the site was so confusing and filled with disgusting images that it was hard to find a page with writing on it rather than pictures. The two photos of her former Master and his lover appeared several times on a few pages, and there were even new photos of them in different …_positions. _

To his surprise, Rouge made Shadow stop on one of the pages that had the two pictures up. This time both of them were in each picture together, and Shadow had to position the page just right so none of their…ahem, _things down there_ – would show. Only their faces down to their chest showed.

Rouge put a finger on the computer screen and touched the part of the photo Mephiles was in. Her finger stayed there for a while as she looked at the picture. Shadow saw a tear leave her eye.

"He's so handsome, isn't he?" she said.

"Who, Mephiles?" Shadow asked, a little taken aback by what she said.

"Yeah," she answered. "He was always so good-looking."

Shadow stared at the photo now as if he was deciphering it. "Well, maybe if he died his highlights red and got red contacts. And changed his name to Shadow. Then he would look sexy." He laughed at his own joke.

Rouge laughed too, but her tone grew serious again quickly. "I always liked that about him. He always looked so good, and wherever we went other girl slaves were staring at him like crazy. Everybody thought he was attractive. I did too, for a long time actually, until _he_ came." She moved her finger from Mephiles over to Silver, and scratched the glass with her fingernail in anger.

"Mephiles loved me," she said, "and Silver took him away from me. I would still be living with him if it wasn't for that fucker, with his ugly face and stupid hair and his whiny voice and, and aaahhhhh-! I HATE HIM!" She started punching the screen as if it would hurt the albino hedgehog in it. She continued to bang the screen as Shadow tried to stop her.

"Rouge, Rouge! Stop it, that's enough!" He grabbed her hands and held them tightly. He turned her around so she was looking at him now.

"I hate him. He ruined my life. My Master loved me! He really loved me! And he ruined everything!" With her hands still restrained by his hands she turned her head to the screen and continued yelling vulgarities at the picture.

"Rouge, look at me!" He gripped her hands tighter to get her attention, and she stared at him with pain mixed with anger in her face.

He kept the tight hold on her. "Rouge, listen to me. I agree, he is ugly, and his hair looks like a fucking weed leaf, and, well I don't know what he sounds like, but he looks stupid and… well, that's not the point! Banging on a damn computer screen and screaming at him won't do anything!"

"Oww, you're hurting me, Master!" Rouge said, trying to get out of his grasp.

But he gripped her hands tighter. "No! I won't let you go until you listen to me. You have to forget about them. You're only hurting yourself. You understand?"

"Please, let me go!"

"Do You Understand?" he screamed.

"Yes!" He let go of her hands. And there was blood stained on his gloves. Her blood.

She looked away from him, back to the computer screen. She didn't look at her hands, but kept her eyes glued to the screen.

_Did I do that to her hands?_ They were bleeding and had little scratches on them from his nails digging into them. But they didn't look that bad. He said sorry in that "Wow I'm a jackass" tone.

"Don't worry about it," she said, looking back up at the pictures. "I got carried away."

You _got carried away? I almost tore your hands off…_

"Those first three years that I knew him were the best years of my life," she started reminiscing. Shadow was surprised on how openly she was saying this. "We were so happy together. It was the first time I felt love. I wanted him. And he wanted me too. But after those three years everything changed."

"He didn't love you anymore?" Shadow asked.

She shook her head. "But for a while, _I_ still did."

She continued, "It was stupid, and when I realized that what we had was gone…"

"God this shit is crazy…" Shadow said, leaning his head on his hand. "Its like a fricking soap opera."

"Well, it's the truth," she said. "I managed to convince myself enough to forget about loving him, but that small part of me still has feelings for him. And I can't convince that small part otherwise."

"You mean, you can't fully persuade yourself into forgetting about loving him?"

"Yeah. That tiny part of me still wants to be with him. It still loves him."

"Well, can you convince that small part to love somebody else instead?" He raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Maybe," she said softly. He didn't expect her to give the answer he secretly wanted. She was still confused and her emotions and feelings were MIA after what those two did to her, he didn't expect her to fully understand what he meant. Besides, he was still sorting out his own feelings for her.

**XXXXX**

They searched through the website further, but didn't find anything new. Neither of them knew how long they had been searching, but when the screen went black from loss of power they figured it was time to get off and forget it. Shadow had found enough about the two anyway. Leaning back in his chair he sighed and said, "Well, we certainly learned a lot about them today, eh?"

Unfortunately, Rouge wasn't in much of a happy mood as him. She answered with a simple, "Yeah."

Leaning forward in his chair he turned to her and said, "You're still thinking about them aren't you? Forget about them, Rouge, they're garbage anyway. With all that "bondage" and "porn" and whatnot; it makes me sick. They're dirty and vile, and you were unlucky enough to get stuck with them."

"I spent my whole life with them. I never knew that they were in that kind of business. I guess I should've known from all that stuff they did to me." She wasn't looking at him so he didn't know whether she was talking to him or to herself. "All of that" (she motioned to the computer) "is sick and wrong."

"And that's how the government wants it: sick and wrong. Not like anyone's going to stop them," Shadow said, smoothing out his quills and developing a disgusted look on his face. "Mobius will always be like this, no one will ever stop them."

"Why don't you stop them?" she asked him.

"ME?" he said, pointing to himself. "What makes you think I can stop an entire organization of highly ranked anthro officials?"

She stared at him blankly. "You worked for an organization of highly ranked anthro officials, didn't you?"

"Yeah, highly ranked anthro officials that worked for the government, and believe in everything the government stands for."

"Why did you work for them if you didn't agree with them?"

He made the symbol for money with his thumb and forefingers. "They paid good. Which doesn't matter now since they fired me. Besides, even if I did still work for them, which in a way I'm glad I don't, it isn't like they would've done anything. You think they would've started a rebellion or something and retaliated against the government?"

"There must be some people that don't like the government's ways…" she said hopefully.

"Yeah, me and you. That's about it dear, so I'd stop wishing if I were you."

"But you and I make a good team, no?" she said this with a smile, but her tone was serious.

"What makes you say that?"

"You have a lot of weapons, you know how to fight, you're highly intelligent, and you're extremely terrifying."

"Okay, and what are your qualities?"

"My good looks?" They both laughed.

"Just put it out of your mind, Rouge. What good is thinking about it if you know you can't do anything about it?"

"Yeah, I know. So, what are we going to do now, Master?"

Shadow got off of his chair and fell down on his bed, stealing a look at the clock which read a quarter to 10 pm. He laid down on his back as she joined him on the bed. "Well, now that I know their names and have pictures of them I can turn them into the police and they can track them down easily. I'll call them tomorrow and explain everything to them. You ready to answer some questions about Mephiles and Silver? The police will probably want to interview you."

"Yes. If it means finally getting back at them for what they did to me, then yes, I'll do anything." She moved closer to him, as she always did whenever she was in bed with him. Shadow felt a bit uncomfortable at how close she was getting, but he didn't tell her to move.

"God, I hope they don't put us on the news or anything. Not a lot of slave-related stories get much publicity, and your story is pretty big. I mean, a gay porn star buying a young girl slave, then falling in love with another gay porn star, who himself has a younger girl slave, then they both torture you for all those years. Drugs, rape, beatings, torture, physical and mental scarring, all of that. Then after ten years you finally manage to escape, run and collapse in an alley, than some random and kind civilian (me) comes and finds you and gives you hospitality and ultimately becomes your Master. Compared to everything else that happens in Mobius that is slave-related, we'll have a spot on the 7:00 o'clock news for sure."

"What do you think will happen to them once they're found, Master?"

"Life in prison with no parole," he said carelessly. "What do you want to happen to them?"

"Death. Electric chair, lethal injection, anything that will make them suffer. And I want to be there to watch them die."

"Wow, someone's morbid."

"You're one to talk, Master."

"Well, they might get the death sentence. Everything they did to you was illegal, but Mobians are usually lenient on Masters. Either way, they'll suffer somehow."

"Mobians_ are_ pretty lenient on Masters. What if they don't get life or the death sentence? What if they only get a few years, then come back and find me? Master, what if-"

"Don't talk like that, Rouge. Besides, I would never allow that to happen. Even if the authorities don't punish them accordingly, _I_ will. I'll make them suffer for everything they did to you. And I would never, ever, let them come and find you. I'll kill them myself if they try to pull some shit like that. We'll call the police tomorrow, and then we'll take it from there."

**XXXXX**

**Wow, no cliffhanger? Well, I guess it counts as a half-assed cliffhanger, but I've had better. ;) This chapter is probably one of the hardest to take in since I'm throwing so much at you, and I apologize for any confusion. I wanted this to be more of a humorous chapter since everything up to now has been depressing, if I say so myself.**

Bondage porn… that was completely impromptu. Can you imagine Mephy and Silvy… together… in that kind of shit? I can…

Gosh this story is nowhere near cannon… ^^() 


	20. Chapter 20

**PLEASE READ! Hi everyone, first of all I want to say how happy I am for all of your reviews! It's been a while since I wrote an author's note before the chapter, but one of my readers asked a question that I feel everyone should know the answer to. Poooy200 asked "What does Sonic think of the slavery in Mobius?" For one, my original plan was to have Sonic in this story, him and Shadow being the main characters, and he was to have his own little "storyline" too. Sonic would've been cannon (sort of) and he wouldn't have liked the rules the government created. Like the hero he is, he would've tried to stop the government but never succeeded. Once he turned 18, since he's 17 now, he would've worked in the SH and would continue his entire life to stop the government. Another thing to mention is that Sonic would've been born into this world, unlike Shadow who was born 50 years earlier and lived in normal Mobius. Sonic never knew of a better world which is why he tried to stop the government. So yeah that was a rough draft from long ago way before I ever put Rouge in it. Now that he isn't in it at all, I would just assume that he still doesn't like the government and continues to try and stop it, but in no way owns a slave or is a slave. I hope that answers your question Poooy200 and anyone else who may have had the same question. If anyone has any other questions feel free to ask anytime.**

Before I start the chapter, I have to ask, would you have rather had Sonic in the story instead of Rouge? It wouldn't be the same story, (he wouldn't be a slave is what I'm saying). Of course, it would've been Yaoi then… which is fine by me… ;)

Let's just get to the chapter… yeah.

XXXXX

Chapter 20 Forget It And Regret It

_Okay, we are not, I repeat NOT, sleeping in like this again. We are also NOT taking naps during the day, and going to bed after midnight._

When the next day came, Shadow woke up with a pounding headache, his body telling him he needed more sleep, and his mind telling him that he should stay awake. His eyes were drooping and his muscles were weak and for some reason he was covered in sweat, which didn't make sense since it was cool yesterday night. He stole a look at the clock. 11:00 am. He never used to wake up this late, and his body punished him for it by being extremely fatigued and sweaty. After taking a shower most of the sweat had washed off of his fur, but it seemed as though he was having a hot flash, his whole body extremely warm. Even by sitting in front of a fan (which was on a high setting, no less) his body refused to cool down. He had a theory that the outside would be cooler than inside his house, so he walked outside for a moment. The minute the sun hit him his fur started to burn. He ran back inside.

"It's so damn hot… and it's only the middle of June." On Mobius, the weather usually stayed in the 60-70 range in May and June, with the nights being cool. It only reached the high 90s and even 100s in July and the beginning of August. "That's global warming for ya," Shadow said angrily as he contemplated whether or not he should shave his fur off.

About an hour after Shadow woke up Rouge walked into the kitchen to find a hedgehog with his head in the freezer and about 5 fans oscillating around him. "Master, what are you doing?" she asked. She had just come out of the shower, therefore not feeling the heat the hedgehog had been suffering through for over 60 minutes.

Without pulling his head out of the freezer he replied, "Trying to beat this damn heat… its about 100 degrees outside and 200 degrees in here, and I even put the air condition on and I got a fan going in every room!"

"Well, now that you mention it, it is a little warm…" she said.

"Yeah, we should go beach or something. Heh, maybe I could ask Sonic if he would like to go to go swimming with us-" He pulled his head out of the freezer and before he could finish his joke, he looked at Rouge for the first time today. There was only a towel covering her body. Her fur was still damp and her wet hair stuck to her face, and she stood sheepishly while Shadow looked at her. He slammed the freezer door shut and turned away from the slightly provocatively dressed bat and said with his back to her, "Aren't you um, hot with that towel on? You should take it off and put some-" Unfortunately she didn't wait to hear the end of the sentence and as Shadow turned around he came face to face with her fully naked body. Of course, he had seen her naked many times before, but usually when he was helping her with a bath or cleaning some wounds that were in pretty intimate spots (and there were many of _them_), but he never saw her exposed like this. The wet towel was now bunched up around her feet.

He would be lying if he said her body wasn't beautiful. If you ignore the scars, bruises, and how skinny she was (though being with Shadow thankfully put some meat on her bones) she looked, well, sexy. He didn't know how long he stared at her. The blush flew to his cheeks and somehow he started getting hotter than before. Thank goodness reality returned to his mind or else he would've started getting ideas of… never mind.

"Rouge that isn't what I meant. I was going to say take the towel off and _put some clothes on. _You can't just go naked."

"But it's hot out, and I won't be going anywhere today. Why do I have to put clothes on?"

"Because my testosterone cannot withstand looking at your naked body for the entire day," he said bluntly, mainly because it was the truth. He could feel that certain spot getting hotter… and it wasn't because of the heat outside.

As was her custom, she argued with him for a while over why she should be allowed to go naked, but when she realized the hedgehog would not give in, she gave up and ended their debate by asking what clothes she should wear.

"We bought you some shorts and t-shirts when we were at the mall. Wear those," Shadow said, filling a bag with ice and putting it on his forehead.

"Fine," she said, and left.

"Thank God," he said to himself. "The last thing I need is more_ heat." _ He leaned back in his chair and let the ice numb his skull, but even after his forehead went completely numb he was still perspiring like crazy. He threw the ice bag to the side and put his head down on the table.

**XXXXX**

"Okay, I put some clothes on, Master." He looked up toward the direction in which he heard the voice. Rouge was standing there in her new clothes. A gray tank top that barely covered her boobs, and a black skirt that was a good 10 inches above her kneecaps. If he thought she was provocative before, now she would make any guys jaw drop. Which is exactly what Shadow's did.

"Rouge, I don't remember buying you those clothes!" He would have never bought her something so skanky and sluttish.

"But everything else was either pants or sweaters, Master!"

"Take those off!" He sounded like a father talking to his daughter who was going out on a date.

"Master, you didn't want me to wear a towel, you didn't want me to go naked, and now you don't want me to wear clothes! Make up your mind!" Now she was yelling at him. He didn't think he ever heard her yell before. Though her voice was scratchy and still relatively sweet, it became very loud and almost threatening. He knew this argument wouldn't go anywhere fast, so he took her by the hand and said softly, "God you're so confused. You can't go naked and you can't just wear a towel all day, no matter how hot it is in here. But you also can't wear those kinds of clothes!" He led her to his room which is where he put her new clothes and searched through the drawers to find something less revealing for her to wear.

Meanwhile, Rouge stood behind him fidgeting with the clothes she had on, trying to see why Shadow hated them so much. Did she look ugly in them? Did he not like their colors? She liked the clothes very much. They were perfect to wear on a hot day like this. But why didn't he like them?

"If you didn't like these clothes then why did you buy them for me?"

He said plainly, "It's not that I don't like those clothes, but you can't wear them _together_. There is way too much skin showing." He pulled out a red short-sleeve shirt that was thin but luckily covered most of her chest. He handed it to her but instead of trying it on she threw it onto the bed.

"So, you don't like my skin?" she asked.

"What?" he asked.

"You just said that these clothes I have on show too much skin, which is why you don't want me to wear them. Is there something wrong with my skin?"

He turned around and stared at her with the most confused and irritated expression the Ultimate Life Form ever registered on his face, ever. "You really have no idea what I mean, do you?" As he expected, she shook her head. He sighed deeply, and throwing her a pair of pants he said, "Rouge to put this mildly, you look like a whore in those clothes. Do you understand what I mean now?" She looked down at her clothes then back up at him. She didn't answer him, and he couldn't tell if she knew what he was talking about either. "Are you really this confused?" he asked her.

"I look… like a whore?" she asked, not exactly surprised nor upset.

Sighing he led her to the mirror so she could look at herself. "Yes, you do," he said. She looked at herself in the mirror for a long time. Finally, she turned around to Shadow and said,

"But, aren't I supposed to look like a whore?"

The way she said this was in a way you would never expect it to be. She didn't say it in a sad tone, or a happy tone, or a confused one. In fact, she said it with no expression in her voice at all. She said this like it was an everyday thing, nothing out of the ordinary. She looked at him blankly and waited for his reply.

The black hedgehog stared at her trying to figure out what she just said. Supposed to look like a whore? Why would anyone think that they are supposed to look like that? That this type of clothing is okay?

Trying to calm himself down before he went ballistic on this girl and her confusing questions, he urged her to put the new clothes on that he picked out for her. She looked at him quizzically, but obeyed. Helping her out of the first set of clothes she put on he said, "Rouge, you do know what a _whore _is, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then why are you calling yourself one?"

With no hesitation she replied, "Because I am a whore?" It wasn't a question, but more like a statement that she was trying to persuade Shadow into believing it.

Before he started contradicting her (because she was in no way a whore, obviously) he thought about what she just said. There must be a reason as to why she would believe that. "Is that what Mephiles told you? He said that you were a whore?" She nodded. "He wasn't the only one. And he didn't only call me that. He said a lot of things to me. Well, _about_ me."

"And you believed that?" She nodded again, pulling up the pants Shadow gave her. "Rouge, you can't honestly believe all that shit they told you?" She nodded, not seeing any harm in it nor seeing what he was getting at.

"Rouge, listen to me. They obviously did more damage to you psychologically than physically, that's for sure. I bet they told you these horrible things the whole time they had you, didn't they? Those things aren't true, Rouge. None of that is. You aren't a whore, or a slut, or whatever they called you. I thought you were smart enough to realize that…"

"But I am those things Master! And not just because they said that I am."

"What makes you believe that you're any of those things?" he asked.

_"I'm a slave aren't I?"_

**XXXXX**

She continued, since Shadow was too taken aback and confused to say anything. "Slaves do _things_ for people because they don't have a choice. Whores do _things_ for people because they need the money. Slaves dress like how I was dressed to look good for their Masters. Whores dress like that to look good for their customers. It's all the same. I'm no different from them. Except that I have a collar around my neck and they don't."

She had a point, and he didn't have a comeback. He never thought about it that way simply because he wasn't a slave, therefore the comparison never occurred to him. There were whores in Mobius, not many where he lived but in certain parts of the city you could find a whole bunch. Since slaves were the poor people of Mobius and Masters were the rich, hookers and pimps and people that fit that category were sort of in the middle, neither a Master nor a slave. The government tried to eradicate them, but ended up just giving up on them and not seeing any harm in what they were doing. Most of them were homeless and uneducated anyway. And in a way, whores _were_ just like slaves. But they were a step above slaves. They got_ paid_.

Shadow didn't know that Rouge had thought about her situation like that. She was very intelligent, more than she let on. Those years of mental abuse didn't affect her common sense and intellect. She didn't use the definition of _whore_ that comes into our minds whenever we hear the word. She wasn't talking about a dirty, slutty prostitute that wanted sex. She used the real definition. She was talking about a person who gave up their dignity and principles to serve somebody else. She made the words **slave **and **whore** synonymous.

After thinking it through, the hedgehog had a newfound respect for the two terms. He said to Rouge, "Wow, I never thought about it like that."

"Because you aren't a slave," she said smiling.

"Yeah, you're right. But, Rouge, even though they _are_ similar, at least in the way you put them, you know that they are different too, right?"

"Yes, I do. And by the way you reacted I know that you don't want me to say that I'm a whore anymore, right?"

"Right. No matter what you believed about slaves and whores, I don't want you comparing yourself to them anymore. They might've treated you like a whore, but I will not, ever. You're way more than that, better than that."

"But, Master, I was born into slavery. I lived with that belief my whole life."

"But you won't have to anymore. Not while I own you." In all truthfulness, he didn't plan on how long he would actually keep her. Common sense told him that it was essential to keep her for the rest of his life, since she has been through so much and needed someone to care for her, and he was the only person who probably ever would. But astonishingly he still had mixed feelings about keeping her. He didn't want to think about that now, and he definitely didn't want to mention it to her as it would scare the hell out of her for sure. But on an aside, he didn't feel right about using the phrase 'keeping her.' She wasn't an object you could buy and return. She wasn't something you could own and be more powerful than, better than. And he didn't want her to think that she was. "I will never treat you like that," he said sincerely.

She believed him, that much was evident, but she was still confused. "But what about this?" She grabbed her collar, the one he gave her, and pulled it up from her neck to show him. "Doesn't this label me as a slave and a whore? Doesn't this make it okay for you to do those things to me and treat me like one of those people?" She was right. The collar was the stamp of approval that every Master needed in order to treat their slaves as they wished. But Shadow wasn't one of those Masters. He never planned on treating her like a slave. In fact he had tried hard not to treat her like a slave the whole time she has been with him. He didn't want to put her beneath him. He didn't believe in the Master and slave system and he never would. But there was still Rouge to take into account. She will always think of herself as nothing, as a slave, as an object. He wanted Rouge to know that she wasn't one of those slaves. And that she will never be one of those slaves. He never wanted her to be one of them, which was crazy, but not impossible. So he did something irrational, wrong, and dangerous.

He ripped the collar off of her neck.

**XXXXX**

He threw the collar onto the floor, its buckle now broken due to the force of his hand when he ripped it off. Her hand flew to her neck, feeling the part of her skin that always had a collar around it. She looked at him worriedly.

"That thing – " He motioned to the collar – "That's just a piece of leather. It doesn't mean anything. Put that around my neck and people will think I'm a slave. It's just an accessory. It doesn't mean anything to me. And it shouldn't mean anything to you."

"But-"

He put a finger to her lips. "I won't ever treat you like a slave. I don't care what others say, or what they put on you to declare that you're worth less than me. You aren't a slave. Not to me. Without that collar you look like a normal person. Without that collar, no one would ever know that you're supposed to be a slave. And that's how I want it to be. Never again will you wear that collar. Never again will you be treated like a slave."

"But, isn't that lying? We could get in trouble for that…"

That much was true. You couldn't just get a slave out of slavery and you couldn't pass them off as a Master either. Doing so would result in the death sentence for the both of them. But Shadow didn't care. He's broken many rules before, and this one was no different. "I don't care about that. I don't want you as my slave, and I don't want to be your Master anymore. That whole system is stupid. I want you as my friend. Not my property."

She looked back at the collar, secretly wanting it back around her neck. This was scary to her. Not being treated as a slave? Didn't this seem a bit like, déjà vu? Shadow read her mind and said, "When I first brought you here, I didn't want to have to treat you like a slave. Obviously that tactic didn't work, and in the end I had to buy you. But now that we know each other better, and been with each other for a long time, do you think we could go back to that? Don't you want to be someone who isn't playing the slave role anymore? Don't you want to feel safe around me and not have to worry about what you're doing? Don't you just want to be my friend, and not my pet?"

"Of course I do. But we can't. I can't. People will find out… it wouldn't work."

She still didn't want to go through with it. Shadow couldn't understand why. No one would ever find out, and even if they did, Shadow would put a bullet in their head before they could say anything anyway. He wanted this for her more than she wanted it for herself. He stared at her, waiting for her reply. She was frightened because of how he was talking. This stuff was dangerous. But she wasn't lying about liking it. She didn't want to be a slave. But did he really mean what he said about this? The idea was ridiculous and extremely risky, and nothing like anything she has ever done before in her life.

"You can't be serious about the idea…?" she asked.

"You don't think I'm serious? You think that everything I said was a joke?" She didn't say anything, but the look on her face told Shadow he was right. She didn't take him seriously. But he would show her otherwise. He walked over to the collar on the floor, picked it up and brought it back to her. He held it up in front of her face, and before she could get a good look at it, he ripped it to shreds. He threw the shreds all over the floor and looked back at her.

"Is that serious enough for you?" he asked.

"Why did you do that?"

"Because I was making a point. That collar was the only thing separating you and me. And now that it's gone, we don't have to be 'Master and slave' anymore. We could just be 'Shadow and Rouge.' Don't you want that?"

She looked into his eyes. He _was _serious about this. "…Yes. More than anything I want that. But Master-"

"Don't call me Master anymore. Call me Shadow."

He could tell she didn't want to. The look in her eyes was fear, and her face spoke of confusion. She wanted this, but she also didn't want to risk having it. So much could go wrong. They could be killed if anyone found out. This wasn't safe, and it certainly wasn't what she was taught. But…

"I don't know, Master-"

"_Shadow_," he corrected her.

She ignored him. "Master, I don't know about this. It's strange. I don't know how to act like a normal person. I've only been taught how to be a slave. How to serve and live for someone else."

"But Rouge, now you can live for yourself. I won't make you serve me; I don't _need_ anyone serving me. You don't have to worry about making somebody else happy. You only have to worry about yourself now. I promise, if you agree to do this with me, I will never make you do anything you don't want to, or tell you to serve me, or treat you like you aren't important. I promise that."

She stared at him in awe. That speech, although tiny, was powerful, and hit her in a way that made her blood grow cold and her hands start trembling in eagerness. She was still hanging on his words, his sweet words, which spoke for her and not for himself. She felt tears well up in her eyes, but the last thing she wanted was to cry at this moment, so she pushed them back. Shadow noticed them and told her it was okay if she wanted to cry, he had gotten used to it and didn't mind. But she shook her head and just stared at the floor, trying to form words into sentences in her mind. His words were like gold, filling her body with a weird feeling she never felt before, but yet feel in love with it instantly. She never heard anyone say these things to her before. To care for herself, to only have to worry about herself, to not have to serve anyone ever again. These things were pitiful hopes that slaves dreamed about at first, but then gave up on when they got older and realized it wouldn't happen. That fairy tales weren't true and life would always be a living hell for you. That there would never be anything better. But Rouge was different. She wasn't like the other slaves. She found that something better. She found it and as soon as she realized she wanted it she grabbed hold of it and never let it go, not for a second. She loved it, she needed it. And it needed her. And it came in the form of… "Never in my entire life," she started. "Did I ever think of meeting someone like you. Someone who would actually look at and treat me like a real person, not just an object. I gave up on hoping for something better in my life. I thought it would always be just pain and sorrow. But you showed me the exact opposite. You gave me something that I could never pay you back for. I could say it a million times, and it would still mean something, but I never thought I would ever meet a person like you,

_Shadow_."

And for once, she said his name with no anger in her voice, or fear, or sadness, and she didn't apologize later for having said it. No, she said it with complete happiness in her voice. And with that one little word, she gave up her role as 'slave.' She erased it from her mind, and refused to let it enter again. She wasn't a slave. She wasn't a slave! She will never be a slave again. Shadow freed her from this hell she was thrown into against her will long ago. She didn't need it to be written on paper, or signed on a document, and she didn't need to let anyone else know of it. All she needed was that look in Shadow's eyes to tell her that it was okay. That they will be okay. That no matter what, they will be able to live this new life together. Not as 'Master and slave.' Not as 'rich and poor.' Not as 'better and worthless.' But as 'friend and friend.' And as 'Shadow and Rouge.' **Shadow and Rouge.**

She picked up a small piece of leather from the collar, looked at it and smiled. "It's funny…"

"What is?" he asked.

"This little thing was keeping me from calling you Shadow. It was keeping me from thinking for myself, from worrying about only myself, and from living for myself. It kept me trapped in that hell for so long. It ruined my whole life, ever since that other collar, and now this one, was put on my neck. It did so much to me. And… it's just, a piece of leather. It has no meaning."

He took the scrap of leather in his hand. "No, it doesn't have a meaning. He threw it to the floor carelessly, and said,

"Not anymore."

**XXXXX **

**? Wow, I actually felt myself getting emotional while writing this chapter. And it isn't even that sad of a chapter, yet I felt myself getting sad… And I didn't even cry at the end of Titanic, but I was gonna cry because of this chapter? But, I'm a big girl and big girls don't cry…lol. But now I'm all sad… maybe I should go see the Hangover part 2… that'll get me in a happy mood :) Jeez… **

**So… don't know what to say about this chap. Make what you want of it I guess. I really wanted them to bond… think I did the right thing? Or do you hate me for doing it? I don't hate me for doing it. You know why? Cuz I'm the author! :)**

Oh and yes, feel free to answer the question at the top… if you want… :)

Gotta stop ending my sentences with smiley faces… 


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21 Familiar Face**

He woke up to someone screaming. He didn't even remember falling asleep, yet here he was face down on a pillow, drool hanging from his mouth, his eyes shooting wide open once the scream hit his ears. But when the hedgehog opened his eyes all that he saw was Rouge sleeping soundly next to him. Maybe the scream was in his own dream? He turned around ignoring the drool on the pillow and closed his eyes again, self-assured that the scream was fake. A couple seconds later he heard it again, and this time, it wasn't in his dream.

"No, please Master! Please stop!" He spun back around to see Rouge moaning and writhing in the sheets that were covering her, trying to tear them off of her as if they were keeping her down. Her eyes were still closed yet she continued to scream at a Master that was only visible in her dream. Immediately Shadow tore the covers off of her and grabbed her body to prevent her from hurting herself unconsciously, and quickly tried to wake her up.

"Rouge, wake up!" he whispered, his words being drowned out by her obnoxious yells. He shook her slightly to try and pull her out of her nightmare and when her eyes finally opened, she violently shoved the hedgehog away and backed away from him.

"No! Just leave me alo –" she stop mid-sentence after realizing who she was actually yelling at. Shadow moved closer to her, confused yet ultimately worried about her. Reaching his arms out she eagerly crawled into them and rested her head on his arm. For once, she wasn't crying.

"You're shaking," Shadow said once his own body started vibrating because of her. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She pulled away from him but he kept his arms around her form. She was still in shock from the nightmare, but her face had more of a disgusted and embarrassed look than a frightened one. "I'm sorry Shadow, but I keep having these fucking nightmares…" she trailed off. It was the first time she called him by his name since yesterday night when he told her to. After that she consistently called him 'Master' out of habit for the rest of the day. It was also the first time he heard her swear openly without her looking back up at him thinking she would get punished for letting the vulgar word slip. Both of these words (his name and the curse word) felt so nice to finally hear from her.

Anyway, he felt very concerned for her. After years of practice he was able to suppress his constant nightmares about Maria, but he knew that her nightmares would be harder to deal with. "Maybe I should take you to a doctor, or something." He didn't really think a doctor would do much in this case; he only said it to make her feel better. Luckily she piped up with a question of her own that changed his 'doctor' subject.

"I thought you said you were going to call the police yesterday and tell them about everything."

That one sentence was like a slap in the face for him. The original plan was to call the police, yes, but after yesterdays ordeal with the collar it slipped his mind. Lying back down on the bed he said, "Yeah, I know, but we got sidetracked yesterday." He looked at the clock which read 4:45 a.m. "I'll call them today, (yawn) I promise." He pulled the covers back over him, only to have them pulled off again. He felt something (someone) push against his backside, and he looked behind him to see Rouge squeezing in next to him, cuddling up in his fur. Well, _cuddling _was an understatement. More like _molding_ into his body. He turned around and raised an eyebrow at the white bat who was trying to become one with his backside.

"A little elbow room would be great…" he said jokingly, but his tone said otherwise.

Putting on a pouty face she replied, "But I'm cold. And your fur is so soft." She backed away, about two centimeters, which didn't make the difference for Shadow in the slightest, and quickly closed her eyes and pretended she was asleep before he could argue any further.

Sighing, he turned around and tried to make do with her extreme clingy-ness. Before falling back to sleep he heard a short giggle come from behind him, which was followed by,

"Besides, I don't have to obey your orders, _Shadow_. I'm not your slave anymore."

Laughing, he answered back, "If I put a gun to your head you'll obey my orders. So just keep that in mind."

**XXXXX**

Simply because of the novelty of the subject, she continued to throw the "You're not my Master anymore, so I can do whatever I want," attitude around for most of the morning. Shadow didn't mind, though, and instead just enjoyed seeing her act so different and, well, _free._ It wasn't a complete transformation, and she didn't become some grand new person because of it, but she was definitely acting the way he always wanted her to act, without the collar serving as a barrier between them. In all honesty he didn't believe she would actually go through with his idea, but he was glad the outcome turned out the way it did. And besides, it was nice to finally hear someone else say his name for a change.

As they were eating breakfast a thought crossed Shadow's mind and his stomach dropped to his feet. "Shit, I shouldn't have ripped your collar up!" he said, cursing himself under his breath.

"Why do you say that, Mast- Shadow?" she asked.

"Because, if I tell the cops you're a slave, which I have to say since you _were _a slave and technically _still_ are, and the story wouldn't make sense if I didn't say so, you need to have a collar on you." Slaves that weren't collared, regardless of if they have an owner, were immediately taken in by the police. "They're going to know that you're a slave because of your story, and I can't tell them that you aren't a slave anymore, because that's illegal and impossible, so you're going to have to pretend you're a slave to them."

"But what about my collar?" she asked, getting worried. "I don't have one anymore."

He thought about what he could do for a collar. Buying one would be the obvious choice, but they ran for $30-$50, and considering that he doesn't have a job anymore, he would be wasting a good $50 on a collar she would wear only once. But what about a makeshift collar?

"I'll tear up one of the belts I bought you and I'll make a collar out of it. It won't be that comfortable, but I'd rather spend $5 on a new belt than $50 on a collar."

"I guess that could work," she said. They were quiet for a while, and then Rouge broke the silence. "Um, Mast-Shadow?"

"Yeah?" he said, laughing at the mistake she's been making all morning.

"Do you think that, by giving those guys up to the police, will stop my nightmares?"

He tried to answer as truthfully as he could. "It'll certainly help. You'll never have to worry about them again. They'll be dead and gone."

She smiled, but she didn't look convinced. "I don't want to have to re-live all of that again when I tell the police. I had enough trouble telling you everything. Now I have to explain it all again."

He reached over the table and put his hand on top of hers. "Rouge, I swear, after this you'll never have to worry about them again, or even have to think of them. I promise, this is the last time you'll ever have to speak of them. We _have _to turn them into the police. They can't get away with what they did to you. Once they're arrested, it'll be over. Don't you want that?"

"Yes, but, what if they don't believe me? What if they think we're making it all up?"

He shook his head. "Why would we, or anyone for that matter, make something like this up? It's not like we don't have evidence, Rouge. You have a thousand scars on your body, and we have their pictures and information of who they are. They'll have to believe us." For a second there he found himself trying to convince _his _own mind that the police would believe them. The reality of what they were going to do have finally hit both of them, and now it was scaring them and they were starting to doubt whether or not they would be taken seriously. Shadow found himself actually wondering if he should go through with it, despite everything he just said to Rouge.

"I'm scared Shadow," Rouge said sadly. "So many things could go wrong and-"

Her sentence was interrupted by the doorbell ringing.

**XXXXX  
**  
"You already called the police?" she asked, looking at the door.

Shadow was staring at it too. "No," he said. "I didn't."

Shadow knew there was no reason for Sonic or the others to be at his door, and if G.U.N. needed to contact him for any reason they would've called him first. There was only one other person that would be at his door:

"Mephiles," the hedgehog and bat said in unison. Rouge moved closer to Shadow and he saw her face light up in fear. _No, fuck no,_ he thought, _it can't be him. He doesn't know where I live. He doesn't know that I have Rouge. It can't be him. It can't be him!_ These words were running through his head pounding through his skull trying to convince him that this man who played as the main point of their story to the police was not behind his front door.__

"Do you think…?" Rouge grabbed Shadow's arm, her eyes locking onto the door. Shadow looked her way for a second but a second was all it took to give Rouge the look that said plainly,

_"It might be."_

Immediately Shadow ran to his room and grabbed his gun from his dresser, loaded it, and came back out to the living room. If it _was_ Mephiles, there was no way in hell he would be getting his hands on Rouge. The doorbell kept ringing, the person on the other side desperate to get inside. Shadow moved closer to it, slowly, and gestured to Rouge to get behind him. He felt his hand shaking around the cold metal of the gun, his index finger just above the trigger, his skilled hand ready to shoot if need be. His blood grew cold as he felt a drop of sweat fall from his forehead. His heart was racing, and it felt like he wasn't even breathing anymore. Rouge's hand grasped his arm. She was shaking too, and her skin was icy cold. The only thought running through his mind was _kill him, kill him. If it's Mephiles, you shoot him. If you don't, you'll regret it._ He didn't know how strong Mephiles was, or if he could even fight. Shadow had a gun and years of experienced fighting under his belt, and would even bring out his Chaos Emerald if he had to, though any type of power he used with his Chaos Emerald could easily put Rouge in danger. But he was determined to silence this fucker. In all honesty, he would've liked to have a (nice) talk with this prick before he killed him, but considering the circumstances, a nice couple bullets through his head would be enough for Shadow.

With his right hand on the doorknob, his left hand holding his gun (since he was left handed and therefore only used his weapons with his left), he took one last look back at Rouge, mainly to check if she was still there. She looked up at him, utterly terrified, and nodded her head to let him know she was ready. As much as she feared it, she wanted nothing more than to see this fucker die. Half of her didn't want him to be on the other side of the door. But the other half wanted him dead. Now.

He turned back around to the door, and turned the knob sideways. And as if in slow motion, he swung the door open. And the person on the other side wasn't Mephiles.

It was Blaze.

**XXXXX**

His hand was still grasping the gun tightly when he realized who the figure was. For a moment he felt his heart stop and his stomach do a cartwheel, and in a seconds time the fear that enveloped his body had disappeared and was replaced with a sickly relief feeling. Rouges hand was groping his arm so tightly out of apprehension of the door opening that when she let go his arm stayed numb for a while. His finger remained on the trigger.

"B-Blaze?" Rouge asked, looking out at the purple cat standing on the doorstep to Shadow's house, wearing nothing but a white sheath, which was probably a tunic at one point but was now just a piece of battered fabric over her body. She also had on a white collar.

The cat didn't say anything, but just looked with wide eyes from Shadow to Rouge, as if she was making sure that it was them and not somebody else. Rouge immediately ran to her side, while Shadow just stared at her in disbelief. True, it wasn't Mephiles at his door, but this wasn't exactly any better. Blaze never saw Rouge with Shadow at the mall, and she certainly didn't know where he lived and where she could find them. There was absolutely no way she got here on her own without the help of _them._ Shadow tightened his finger around the trigger, and with caution walked outside and looked around to see if there was anyone else around, namely _them._ He didn't see anybody, only Rouge huddled over Blaze on his doorstep. He didn't understand why she would be here, or how she even got here, but there was no way he was letting his guard down. He walked over to the girls and pulled Rouge aside, away from the purple cat, and with threatening eyes he said to Blaze, "Why are you here? How did you get here? How do you know where I live?"

Blaze looked up at the black hedgehog, whose demeanor was intimidating enough, but was also wielding a gun in his hand. She fell to her knees in front of him and begged, "Please! Please don't hurt me! I can explain why I'm here!"

But Shadow knew better than to believe her. He wasn't gullible, and he didn't care _how_ much this cat cried and begged, he knew there was something up with this picture and he was going to find out in any way he could. "Why should I believe anything you say? Rouge told me about you, _Blaze,_ and as far as I'm concerned you're just a slave girl who's in cahoots with Mephiles and Silver. And believe me, Rouge told me more than enough about those two. So WHY ARE YOU AT MY HOUSE?" He wasn't ready to believe anything this girl had to say. He already established in his mind that this girl was no better than Mephiles and Silver. And if it wasn't for Rouge standing there next to him, there would already be a bullet in this girls head.

Before Blaze could answer him, Rouge jumped in between them and said to Shadow, "No! Don't hurt her, Shadow! I swear, she has nothing to do with them!"

"And how do you know that, Rouge? She could be in on some plan Mephiles and Silver created! Remember, she saw you at the mall, so obviously you know she told them about you!"

"No I didn't," Blaze said, still on her knees, afraid to even move in the presence of the black hedgehog. "I swear, I didn't tell them. Please, Sir (Shadow), if I could explain…?"

Without hesitation Shadow said 'no', but Rouge looked at him with eyes that begged for him to reconsider. "Please, Shadow, let her explain why she's here. I've known her for almost my whole life; she wouldn't do anything like that, not to me. And she certainly wouldn't side with Mephiles and Silver."

Somewhere inside Shadow still refused to say yes, but he lowered his gun and sighed heavily before saying, "Okay. Okay, I'll let her explain herself, only because of what Rouge said."

Rouge smiled and thanked him before helping Blaze up from the ground. As she lead her into the house, Shadow stopped her for a second and whispered to Blaze with eyes that weren't fooling around, "I swear to God, if you're up to something, I'll personally make sure that you don't see the light of day again."

**XXXXX **

When the three of them entered the house Rouge seated Blaze on the couch to get a closer look at her. Moving some hair away from her face, she could see that the purple cat had been crying, and of course, there was blood and other bodily fluids covering her face. Shadow placed his gun on a nearby end table, figuring that he really didn't need it after all. Even if this girl was faking her arrival here, and was in on a plan created by those two assholes, Shadow would have no trouble taking her down without his gun. But, he decided that since he gave her the benefit of the doubt and against his better judgment, let her inside his home, his sour demeanor turned soft as he walked over to the two girls.

Blaze was starting to double over on the couch, out of fatigue or if she was going to throw up, and Rouge was trying to hold her up. "Is she all right?" Shadow asked, kneeling down next to Rouge.

"I'm okay," Blaze said, looking up at the hedgehog and bat. Her words were slightly slurred and she stopped in random spots of her sentences to breathe. "I just, lost a lot of blood, you see…" She lifted her left leg up to show them a gash about 3 inches long, starting at her knee and ending a little above her calf. "I, um, was running here, and fell, and…"

Ignoring the obvious pain she was in Shadow interrupted her saying, "How did you know where I lived?" His face was serious, but you could see the cracks showing his concern for her.

"Please, Sir, I'll tell you everything, but can I please take care of this first?" She gestured to her leg, which was in serious need of care, but Shadow wasn't about to take no for an answer.

"No, we'll deal with your leg soon. I want to know how you got here."

"Please, it hurts really bad, I promise I'll explain myself!" she begged.

"Please, Shadow, can we take care of her leg first? She said she'll tell us everything!" They both looked up at him with desperate faces. He was in no mood for this. But he didn't want to say no to Rouge.

"Fine, bring her in to the bathroom; I'll take care of it."

Contrary to what he said, it was _him_ who brought her to the bathroom. She was so weak that she could barely walk, so he had to carry her the same way he carried Rouge home when he found her in the alley. Setting her down on the bathroom sink he grabbed some gauze and told Rouge to run some hot water. He took care of her wound much like he did with Rouge's, and when he was done she thanked him on how caring he was.

"Thank you Sir," she said, feeling the bandages over the cut. "It feels a lot better."

"Yeah," he said nonchalantly. "Now tell me why you're here." He crossed his arms over his chest and waited impatiently for her to reply. Blaze looked at Rouge who was cleaning up some of the blood that managed to get on the counter, and she gestured to Blaze to start explaining herself, because she knew how angry Shadow could get.

"Like I said before, I'm not in on any plan that Master Mephiles and Master Silver made up," she started. "I overheard them talking about Rouge escaping, and how they were going to get her back. I didn't believe them; I thought they killed her and were just making up a story to tell the police. But when I saw her at the mall, I realized that she _did_ manage to run away, and was with someone else. Since she was at the mall she was at, I knew that she couldn't have run that far. She must have still been in the same vicinity in which Master Mephiles lived in. So, believing that, if she could manage to escape from her Master, I could escape too. So, when Master Silver was at work, and I was home alone, I ran out. I ran and ran until I came upon a neighborhood and figured that this must be where Rouge was, since it was so close to the mall. I know it was stupid to think, but I knocked on every door on this block until I came upon this one and saw Rouge. And I was so happy to see her." She hugged Rouge and Rouge hugged her back.

Shadow found the story hard to take in. "You actually knocked on every door on my block until you found the one Rouge was in?" His block was the first block with houses after you were out of the city (where the mall, the alley, and the restaurant Shadow and Rouge ate at, resided) and on the other side, where Mephiles and Silver must live.

Blaze laughed and said, "I know it sounds crazy, but there was nothing else I could do. I knew Rouge had to live somewhere around here, and I was determined to find her. Some people didn't answer their door, and others yelled at me, but I didn't care. I knew I would find Rouge."

She was much more talkative than Rouge, and wasn't as afraid of Shadow like Rouge was when she first came here. The purple cat jumped off of the counter and hugged Rouge again, saying how grateful she was that she found her. Both of the girls were oblivious to Shadow's obvious confusion and dumbfounding expression. This girl was cheery, this girl was nice, and she also wasn't afraid of Shadow anymore. Her story was shady, and shadiness was all it took to convince Shadow that she was not the type of person to trust.

**XXXXX**

Wow, some chapter huh? So, Blaze managed to run away from Silver, and also managed to find Rouge! But Shadow does not trust her! Do you trust her? Tell me what you think! Please review! 


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22 Strife**

_She's very different from Rouge… in more ways than one…_

After getting permission from Shadow if she could use the bathtub to clean herself up (much to Shadow's consternation, of course) Blaze instantly threw herself off of Rouge and started running bath water, not even concerning herself with the fact that two other people were still in the room with her. She was all smiles, odd for a girl who just ran God knows how many miles with a bleeding leg with nothing on but a short, thin, sheath. Rouge ran to get her soap and a washcloth while Shadow just stared in disbelief at the purple cat. _She's been in my house for not even 10 minutes and already she's running bath water and making herself at home. She doesn't even seem intimidated by me anymore… and I'm not one to toot my own horn but god dammit I'm pretty intimidating… aren't I?_ With Rouge temporarily out of the room, Shadow saw this as an opportunity to… "get to know this cat a little more." After all, he technically was still a Master, wasn't he? He had every right to do whatever he wanted.

She was bending over the bathtub on her knees, her sheath pulling up on her back, revealing some skin. Almost identical to Rouge's, Shadow saw various cuts tattooed on her back; some were scars while others looked like wounds that started to heal, but were opened up again. Her legs had marks on them too, and so did her arms. _These two Masters of theirs must really enjoy marking their slaves up_, he thought. Although there were marks covering her entire body, her back seem to have suffered the most torture. There were so many welts from the use of a whip that he couldn't even keep count. They stopped near her shoulder blades, and while the cuts on the small of her back were long and deep, these ones near her shoulder blades were small and-

"Is something wrong Sir?" Blaze asked, jumping to her feet and pulling her sheath down. The hem of the sheath landed just above her thigh. Her movements were so fast, especially for a girl who endured that much damage to her skin, and who must still be in pain. The hedgehog immediately went back to his look of indifference and said coolly, "No, everything's fine." She smiled at him, putting her hands behind her back and waiting patiently for Rouge to return. "Um, do you need help getting in the tub?" he asked.

"No!" she screamed at him, a concerned and almost accusing look on her face. After realizing she screamed she instantly went back to her original calm and happy face and replied, "No. I don't need help, Sir. But thank you." She turned back to the water. Shadow was almost about to reprimand her and ask questions regarding her outburst (he had every right to, anyway. Slaves- especially one that he doesn't even know- were never supposed to yell at Masters), but Rouge came into the room and starting telling Blaze something that the hedgehog didn't even bother to listen to. Instead, he scoffed and turned to walk out of the room, slamming the door behind him loudly, resulting in a loud burst that made both of the girls jump.

He slammed his butt onto his couch and rested his head on his hand. "There's something up with her. I know there is. She's too cheery, too happy… she's hiding something." Rouge came into the room a short time later and sat down next to him. She said, "Wow, can you believe it? Who would've thought that Blaze could make it here and find me?"

He ignored her statements and said, well, _screamed,_ "Rouge, please do not tell my your buying her bullshit? She's hiding something. You know she is! Her story is shady, and-"

"She's not hiding anything, Shadow! I know Blaze; she wouldn't do something like that! She hated her Master as much as I hated mine. After she saw that I was able to get away, she got inspired to do the same. That's it!"

"You're just repeating her words, Rouge. All of that shit she just said was probably a lie. You know she's up to something. I don't trust her!"

"What makes you think she's up to something?"

"Well, for one, her story doesn't hold together."

"Yes it does!"

"No it doesn't! It's too cliché and I don't buy it. She seems way too happy for someone in her state."

"She's happy that she was able to escape from Silver and find me!"

"True, but wouldn't she be at least a _little_ worried about him finding her?" This made Rouge stop dead in her tracks. Shadow continued, "When I brought you here you were scared shitless about Mephiles coming back and finding you. You wouldn't go outside, not even in my backyard! You still have nightmares about him finding you and taking you back. Doesn't it seem strange that she isn't even mentioning Silver and what he might do once he realizes she's gone?"

"Well, yeah but…" she tried to say something but couldn't.

"I know she's your friend and you trust her, but I think she's hiding something."

Some time had passed, and before Shadow and Rouge could continue their argument Blaze came into the living room wearing her white sheath. By the way it was wrinkled and hanging on her rather loosely, Shadow guessed that she didn't even take it off in the shower. She smiled at them, of course, and looked to Rouge and asked if she had any spare clothes she could borrow. "Yeah," Shadow answered, somewhat arrogantly. He stood up and walked towards the cat, his stride and demeanor looking as if he was going to strike her but Rouge quickly stood up and tugged at his arm to stop him. He looked at her accusingly and she returned the look and grabbed Blaze and led her to his room where her clothes were.

Shadow didn't understand. This cat was hiding something, and Rouge didn't believe him! She trusted Blaze too much, and believed every word of that silly story. He was going to make her see that Blaze's story could not, and _did not_, hold together. Rouge came out only a minute later, again sooner than he had expected, and she replied that Blaze didn't need help getting dressed.

"You see?" he asked, getting angry again. "She's all fake! There's no way she wouldn't need help getting those clothes on! Not with all of those bruises and cuts on her body."

Now it was the bats turn to get angry. "So what, you're saying that those marks on her are fake? Let me tell you something Shadow, they're very real! I was there when she got them! If you hadn't notice, I have the same ones on me too!" She held out her arm where a dozen of scars resided.

"I'm not saying the scars are fake."

"Then what _are _you saying, Shadow?"

He didn't want this. He didn't want Rouge to be mad at him over this girl. He ignored her question and sat back down on the couch looking away from her, which didn't help since she sat right down next to him, a softer expression on her face now. "She's been through a lot, Shadow," she said. "I know it seems odd for her to act this way, but wouldn't you act the same as she is if you just managed to escape from a man who tortured you for years?"

He said, "I would be a little more concerned about him and what he was going to do with me if he found me. And you can't disagree with that, Rouge, because _you're_ still worrying about Mephiles yourself."

"I know, and I agree with you 100%. But Blaze isn't like me. She's very different from me, she's always been. She's still enjoying the fact that she managed to escape, because, let's be honest, Mephiles and Silver kept a very tight leash on both of us. I couldn't enjoy the fact that I escaped from them because I was so drugged and out of it, and when I woke up I had you to deal with and I was so confused that the good side of my situation didn't exactly matter anymore and the anxiety and worriment of what would happen to me if they found me took over me. But she _is _enjoying her escape and I think we should let her enjoy it. Reality will hit her soon enough and before you know it she'll be asking us what she could do now."

He believed her speech. He agreed that Blaze was different from Rouge, and she definitely has a more optimistic outlook on her situation right now, as would most people, with the exception of Rouge and him. "Okay, you're right; we should let her enjoy this. But promise me that you won't go overboard believing every word she says. Because you have to admit, if she doesn't realize the seriousness of her situation soon, it'll be obvious that she's making everything up."

**XXXXX**

_Everything this girl does… is so different from Rouge. They're complete opposites_.

Another disparity between the bat and the cat that Shadow added to his (now very generous) list was how they ate. Both of them were skinny enough to demonstrate how much they've been starved during their time with Mephiles and Silver, and you would think that the site of a good meal would make them drool and gobble the food down quickly. Well, this theory was correct for Rouge, but not for Blaze. When Shadow asked Blaze what she wanted to eat, her answer was rather different from what Rouge said the first time Shadow asked _her_. Rouge was willing to eat his scraps of food that he didn't finish, (like any good slave would do), whilst Blaze told the hedgehog _exactly_ what she wanted, (which was something no slave would ever do in their entire life.) Shadow thought this was rather odd for her to do, (he was the man in charge in this situation anyhow) but remembering Rouge's words, he swallowed his pride and made the food for her. And when he put the food in front of her, she didn't gobble it up like he expected. In fact, she didn't even eat it…at first. Instead, she stared at it. For a _very_ long time.

Shadow and Rouge sat down at the table with her exchanging looks to one another. The plan for today was to call the cops, which was also the plan yesterday, but Blaze's appearance threw a wrench in the plan and once again it had to be "post-poned", so now Shadow and Rouge were both left with nothing productive to do again. Shadow knew that by bringing Blaze into the story, especially this early on in their acquaintance, would only make the story more confusing and unbelievable. He was still debating whether or not he would add Blaze into the story at all, since taking into account the things Rouge said about her and Silver could really help them. Then again, Shadow was still debating whether or not Blaze was in this for real, or if she's lying about the entire thing. And ultimately, he was debating whether or not to put a bullet in her head and end his confusion. The latter of these debates being his most favorite.

"Blaze, aren't you hungry?" Rouge asked, looking concerned. Shadow guessed that Blaze's Master didn't give any more food than Rouge's did. But Blaze didn't answer her. Instead, she continued staring at the plate of food in front of her, not even acknowledging the two looking at her. Her eyes were staring into space, and at random points they started blinking rapidly, and at other points they didn't blink at all.

"HEY," Shadow said, banging his fist on the table to get her attention. She jumped and looked up at them. "Blaze, are you okay?" Rouge asked. She looked from the white bat to the black hedgehog. Rouge had a more concerned and even thoughtful look on her face, while Shadow's look was carelessness and annoyance, and he didn't even bother to look worried for a minute.

In almost a second's time, Blaze went from a dazed and pensive look on her face, to her original happy and cheerful self and started eating quickly. Shadow noticed that the look she donned when she wasn't eating was the most serious he's seen her yet. _Aha, so she's not all smiles and "happy-go-lucky" then. _He wondered what she was thinking about so intently, and what would make her stray from being so cheerful.

Halfway through her meal Shadow gathered up the courage to ask, "So Blaze, Silver's probably going to try and find you once he realizes you're gone, huh?" He didn't say it in a malevolent tone, yet there was an undertone of something malicious that was hard to get around. Blaze immediately dropped her fork and looked up at him and said, "Why would he try and find me, he-" and then she stopped mid-sentence. Her face was serious, but only for a minute. Then it returned to a smile once again. "I-I mean, yeah, Master will probably be looking for me…" She was smiling, but her tone of voice was anything but happy. Well, anything but _happy_ and _worried._

Before he could ask anything else, Blaze asked him, "How do you know about my Master?" He pointed to Rouge. "Rouge you told him everything?" she asked. Rouge nodded. "I told him about everything Mephiles did to me, and I told him about Silver too. He said-"

Blaze dropped her fork again and almost screamed at Rouge, "Rouge! You can't say their names like that!" Though she was talking to Rouge, she was looking at Shadow with utter fear in her eyes. If he thought she looked serious before, now she was completely soaked with worry and fright, her signature smile being pushed aside by pursed lips that actually spelled the word _scared._ By the way her eyes darted from Rouge to him, she must've thought that he was going to penalize Rouge for saying those two names.

"No Blaze, its okay," Rouge assured quickly, sensing what Blaze was thinking. "Shadow isn't my Master. Well, I mean, he was, but then…" she trailed off, explaining to Blaze in the best way she could how Shadow and Rouge decided to ditch the 'slave and Master' idea and just live normally. She also explained how Shadow and her were going to turn the two Masters in for what they illegally did to Blaze and her. Shadow couldn't help but think that telling Blaze this was a bad idea, but it was too late to stop Rouge now. Besides, Blaze would've put two and two together soon enough anyway, and anyone could see that Rouge wasn't wearing a collar. But Shadow didn't trust Blaze (to a full extent) and he felt as if too much information was being given to someone he barely even knew. He nudged Rouge a bit to grab her attention and gave her a look that bluntly meant "shut up." But it didn't matter anyway. Rouge told the cat more than enough.

After hearing the bats story, Blaze looked confused, not happy. Her look of confusion turned into frustration, then to sadness, then to anger, back to confusion, and then to a look of satisfaction. _ What the hell is the matter with this girl_, he thought. He was beginning to think she had some mental issues, but Rouge would've told him about this, no? She acted so strange. He wasn't the only one who noticed it. Rouge was looking concerned again, and told Blaze that she needed some rest, and then took her off to bed, not before asking Shadow if she could sleep in his bed. With all of the confusion running around in his head, he let the word 'yes' slip out of his mouth and immediately regretted it. He tried to change his mind but the girls were already out of the room. _Great, now she's sleeping in my bed_, he thought. _I can't get a break, can I?_ As was his custom, he stole a look at the clock, which read 1:00. So much had happened in only half of a day, not even. This girl, her story, his confusion, Rouge's too-open mind, he couldn't handle it. He wanted to scream, because no one believed him. Anyone could see that this girl was hiding something. Or, at least see that something was wrong with her, whether it be a mental problem or a secret that she's refusing to tell Rouge and him. He was in no way ready to try and pry the truth out of another mentally and physically abused slave-girl. What bothered him most of all was how Rouge was acting toward him. Why didn't she believe him? Why didn't she fucking believe him? Angry and confused, he took the empty plate Blaze was eating off of and smashed it on the floor. It broke into pieces. A perfect metaphor for his life as of now.

**XXXXX **

"I know you're upset about her being here, but you don't have to break things. Have you ever tried talking to someone about your problems instead of taking your anger out on inanimate objects?" Rouge was cleaning up the last bit of broken ceramic off the floor, while Shadow was sitting at the table drinking a beer. He kept his alcohol hidden in his basement in a blue cooler, and it was hidden not because he didn't want anyone to see it, but because he didn't want to be tempted to drink it. He wasn't a drinker, particularly because it burned his esophagus and made his whole body feel heavy. The only other time he ever drank was at a party G.U.N. was throwing for the employees at a fancy bar in downtown Mobius. He was forced to go, which was the last thing he wanted, and the whole evening he sat by himself refusing to talk to anyone. He never had alcohol before, but he saw everyone drinking it, so he decided he'd give it a try. The first sip was awful, the second sip was much the same, but after a while he got used to the taste and found himself asking for more. Eventually he got drunk, and all that he remembered was making out with a girl whom he heard died three weeks later in a car accident, passing out a couple of times, getting a ride home from some guy he didn't know, and spent the rest of the night and the next morning vomiting. It was the best and the worst moment of his life; the best because for once his worries seemed to disappear once the alcohol was in his system, the worst simply because he had a terrible hangover. After that party he remained sober, but with the recent setbacks he's been suffering through, he bought some alcohol for 'just in case' purposes. This was the first time that 'just in case' purposes arrived since the party.

He said to Rouge, "Breaking things is much easier than talking to someone. Rouge, I don't want her in my house." He finished his second can of beer, and moved on to a third.

"Shadow, you already told me that. I know you don't trust her, but you have to give her a chance. She was acting a little weird today, I'll admit, but you saw her face change once you started talking to her. I think we just need to give her a reality check, make her see that what you and I are planning to tell the police is the right thing and the only thing to do, and then she'll be on our side."

"I think we should just forget about the entire thing." He finished his third can and moved on to a fourth.

"What? Forget about the whole thing? Why?"

"Because it's not worth it… it'll all turn to shit…"

She knew that was the alcohol talking, so she grabbed his can from him and dumped its remains in the sink. "Stop talking like that. We have a good plan, you said so yourself. Blaze just… made it a little more… complicated. But she'll come around. I know she will."

Angry that he didn't have his beer anymore he said, "Rouge, will you just face facts? She's up to something! Don't even bother trying to get her to believe us. Just get rid of her before it's too late!"

"Get rid of her? How can we get rid of her? Just, kick her to the curb? Just like that?"

"Yeah! She's a stupid bitch anyway! A lying, stupid bitch!"

"You can't just get rid of her Shadow!"

"Yes I can! You want to know why?"

"Why?"

He pointed to his neck. "Because I don't have a fucking collar around my neck! She does, and if I want to throw her out, I could do it!"

"You wouldn't, I won't let you do that! Not to her!"

He stood from his chair and walked towards her menacingly. She backed away from him, fearing that he would hit her. She never saw him this angry at her before, and she was starting to get afraid. Even if it was the alcohol talking, he only had three and a half cans, how bad could the liquid have affected him? She remembered when Mephiles used to drink, and he and Silver would drink packs and packs of alcohol at a time. She particularly hated when they would drink, because the drunker they got, the worse they treated her. Shadow's drunken state was bringing back those memories. For a moment, she actually thought he might hurt her.

"You think you could stop me! You still have a collar around your neck too, Rouge, despite what I said! That doesn't matter right now! I could do whatever I want to the both of you, and you know that!" She felt her back hit the wall behind her and her heart was skipping several beats at a time, and she feared the worst. Their bodies were only an inch apart. His eyes were glowing blood-red, and she could see his hands balling into fists, with his veins popping out through his fur. She couldn't think straight, but somehow the thought of '_is he going to hit me?'_ was able to continue running through her head. He looked down at her, she being completely defenseless, of course, and barred his teeth, looking as if he was going to attack her. The memories of how her former Master would beat her when he was drunk flew into her mind and in seconds she was reliving every terrible moment. He would scream at her, yell obscenities at her, and strike at her with not only his fists, but with belts and other inanimate objects. One time that replayed itself vividly in her mind was when she was fourteen and he had beaten her so badly that he broke her collarbone and several of her ribs, and after an hour's argument of why he didn't want to take her to the hospital, Blaze finally managed to convince Silver to take her, which thankfully he did. These memories were so clear that she actually felt herself back in that same position, helpless and scared, as she tried to cover the parts of her body that were hit. She didn't want to think about those horrible recollections yet she didn't want to return to this reality either. Her mouth couldn't form words, so instead of trying to persuade Shadow to stop, she covered her face with her hands and braced for the impact of his fist. But it never came. With her eyes shut so tightly she was seeing stars, she heard a whining, almost like a low groan. The groan turned into a sound you heard when someone was wheezing or that sound you hear a second before someone sneezes. She wasn't sure if it was him making the noise, but after collecting herself slightly enough to realize that she wasn't making those noises, she knew it had to be him. Why was he groaning? He looked so angry and deadly only a second ago. She opened her eyes, still afraid that he was going to hit her. But when she looked at him, she saw that his hands were no longer in fists, and the angry look on his face wasn't there anymore. Pulling her hands from her face, she realized why he was groaning.

He just puked.

**XXXXX**

"I'm so fucking embarrassed."

"Don't be. It happens to everyone."

"I'm so fucking embarrassed."

"At least it's out of your system now. Don't you feel better now that you've thrown that stuff up?"

"…I'm so fucking embarrassed."

"Rouge, is everything okay?" Blaze was fast asleep when she heard screaming coming from the other end of the house. She walked into the bathroom to find Shadow sitting on the toilet seat with a tann-ish substance around his face. Rouge was kneeling down wiping off the substance from his muzzle and said to Blaze, "Yeah Blaze, everything's fine. Go back to bed." The cat nodded to her and looked at Shadow, realizing what happened. And even though the Ultimate Life Forms eyes were teary and his mind was cloudy, he noticed the faint look of concern on the cats face. And then she left.

Distracted by her mood swings, he didn't hear Rouge calling him until the fifth time she screamed his name. "SHADOW!"

"What?" he said nonchalantly.

"…never mind. I was going to ask if you're alright, considering you just vomited about a weeks supply of food and water, but apparently you're fine." She finished cleaning the left over vomit on his body and got up to fill a cup of water from the bathroom sink. He reached out his hand to take it form her, but instead of giving it to him she splashed it on his face.

"What the hell did you do that for?" he asked, grabbing a towel and wiping off his damp muzzle.

She smiled humbly and said, "Are you sure you're okay? You look pretty pale."

Throwing the towel away and sitting back down on the toilet seat he replied, "I'm fine. It wasn't only the alcohol that made me vomit, but the stress of everything. You, Blaze, not having a job anymore, not being able to tell the police our story, shit like that. I feel like puking again."

"Do it in the toilet and not the floor."

He ran to the sink instead of the toilet and dry heaved since there was nothing left in his stomach. He did this for about 10 minutes until his throat was raw and his mouth had an acidic taste and his stomach felt like there was a hole in it. All the time he was retching Rouge stayed by him and wiped the phlegm and foam from his mouth, and held his quills up so they didn't get in the way of his vomiting. When he was finished he fell down onto the floor and buried his head in his hands, breathing rather quickly. Rouge sat down next to him and held him close to her, like he would do if she was in need of comfort, and they sat there for a while. He didn't bother to move from the floor once he started heaving again, since nothing came out anyway. He heaved on and off for what must have been an hour, and Rouge remained by his side the entire time. Once the heaving subsided and his breathing returned to normal, he looked down to see that there was blood on Rouge's hands.

"From your quills," she said quietly. "I never held them before, and I didn't know they were so sharp."

That small sign of blood brought back the events that had happened before he puked. He remembered seeing Rouge frightened, covering herself from him. He remembered wanting to hit her, for no reason, and his mind was so clouded that his voices of reason couldn't convince him not to. And he remembered puking. The other details were a blur. But the only thing he cared about was what he did to Rouge. How scared she must have felt when she saw him like that. Add that to the pain in his belly and the soreness of his entire body, he felt so much worse for what he did. Without even thinking, he grabbed Rouge and hugged her tightly.

"I'm so sorry Rouge. I didn't mean to frighten you like that. I'm such a fucking idiot. I'm sorry."

"Its okay Shadow, I forgive you."

"You know that I would never hurt you, right?"

"Yes, of course."

"I don't know what came over me. God, how could I be so stupid? Resorting to fucking alcohol! I haven't drunk in years and I choose now to? God, I'm such an idiot!"

"It's okay Shadow! Don't beat yourself up about it! It's over now, we can just forget about it."

He let go of her. "I'm really sorry, Rouge. I'm not a drinker, and if I ever get that upset and drunk I would never, ever, result to hurting you."

"Don't worry about it, Shadow. We're both okay and that's all that matters. Just, please, don't drink again? If you're over-whelmed and stressed about things you could just talk to me, you know? Don't go putting that shit in your system and then spend two hours puking it out."

"You're right, I won't. I'm dumping the rest out. Once I get the strength to stand up. Which may take a few years."

"You want me to help you up?" she asked this out of kindness, but frankly she wasn't sure if she was strong enough to pull him up.

"No, I might throw up if I stand. I'll just sit here for another minute or so. You don't have to stay with me."

"No, I'll stay. I don't mind."

After a while of blissful silence, Shadow said, "Rouge, I still don't want _her_ in my house. These sudden changes of events didn't change my mind about her."

She sighed. "I didn't think they would. Did you mean what you said before about her?"

"No… well, not exactly. I wouldn't just kick her to the curb, no matter how much a distrust her. But I'm just worried about our safety."

Rouge was confused. "What, you think she's going to kill us in our sleep or something?"

He shook his head. "Not necessarily. It's not that she's here to kill us. I'm thinking she's here to give information about us to Mephiles and Silver. Now that she knows about what we're planning to do to them-"

"Guess I shouldn't have told her about our plan…" she said sadly.

"-you know she'll report back to them about what we said, what we revealed to her."

"How would she do that? She's here with us, not with them."

"I don't know. She'll probably run away and go back to them after learning enough information about what happened to you, and the guy that took you in once you ran away from Mephiles. If she could run away from _them _and make it to my house, she can run away from _us _and make it back to them."

She took in what he said. His theory made sense, that much was true, but she couldn't imagine Blaze doing something like that to them, especially her, whom she's known for years.

"You saw how she was acting Rouge. Weird mood swings, snapping at me one minute then smiling the next. How many times do I have to say it? **I don't trust her!"**

"But we don't know for sure if she really is hiding something. She just may be acting weird for another reason. Maybe she's all caught up in the moment… and she's confused."

Shadow knew that getting Rouge to side with him would be trouble. He respected Rouge and Blaze's friendship and it was only fair for her to trust her friend, but he didn't want neither of them to be fooled by this girl. If this girl succeeded in whatever she was planning to do (that is if she is planning to do something at all) then there would be no way Shadow and Rouge could ever turn them in. Shadow was not going to let that happen. But he also wasn't about to get stressed over it and start drinking and end up fighting with Rouge about it.

"Tell you what. Let's see how she acts when she wakes up, whenever that may be. Perhaps you're right, and maybe she was just a little confused about everything and needed some time to relax and asses her situation, which I doubt, but I'll give you and her the benefit. If she starts coming around and stops acting like a fake, which again I doubt, then I'll take your word for it and trust her. But if she continues this little sham of hers, then I'm ending it."

"I'll start asking her questions once she wakes up," Rouge said. "I want to make her see how she's acting, and that she could be in real trouble with Silver. Like I said before, all she needs is a good reality check, and once she gets it and starts acting like normal, like how she always used to act when I was a slave with her, then we could put all of these suspicions out of our minds. You'll see, Shadow, once she gets serious, she's really a nice person. And we could use her to explain to the police what Mephiles and Silver are doing."

"I would like that, Rouge. More than you know. But for now, I'll keep my suspicions. If you could manage, somehow, to get her to stop acting like this, and make me realize that she isn't faking, then I'll forgive everything I said about her. But like I said, if she keeps this shit up, I'm ending it."

"Ending what?" Rouge asked.

"Her life."

**XXXXX **

**Shortest title for a chapter in my opinion, but whattya gonna do? I wrote half of this chapter the same time I wrote chapter 21, but the only reason this one took longer to update was because my computer died. The Black Screen of Death cannot be defeated unfortunately :( But hey, you get a long(er) chapter so… yeah.**

And I'm glad to say that we are reaching the beginning of the end my friends. Everything's coming together… Shadow and Rouge are going to find out if Blaze is for real, or if she's faking everything! Are your opinions of her the same? 3 reviewers believe that Blaze is hiding something, only 1 reviewer believes her! Who is right?   
**  
The funniest thing occurred to me today: my birthday is the 21****st**** (of June)! And Sonic's is the 23****rd****! We're only 2 days apart! Omg :0**

Before I leave, I just want to say: I successfully made the Ultimate Life Form drunk. I think I deserve a cookie. Lol.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23 Empathy and Apathy**

As it turned out, Blaze didn't wake up from her napuntil 6:00 a.m. the next day. Since she was sleeping in Shadows bed, the distraught and confused hedgehog and bat slept in Shadows guest room after an argument between them on why Shadow couldn't throw Blaze off the bed and make her sleep on the floor. Blaze came into their room right when the sun was coming up and violently shook her friend awake.

"I can't sleep anymore," she said when Rouge asked her to go back to bed.

"Probably because you slept the whole goddamn day yesterday," Shadow growled from underneath the covers on the other side of Rouge, his back to both of the girls.

"Just ignore him," Rouge told her, as she threw the covers off of her body and stood from the bed, with leaving wonderful dream land the last thing on Mobius she wanted to do right now. Taking the entire night into account, she slept for 20 minutes in total. Her mind was too busy running through everything her and Shadow said the previous day, and also with the memories Blaze brought back to her by coming here. Although Blaze's face was covered by a smile, she was most likely recollecting the bad times shared by her and Rouge at the hands of their Masters too. Rouge had spent so much effort at trying to eradicate the thoughts from her memory, with the helpful aid of Shadow, but Blaze seemed to just bring them back up and now her mind was filled with the tortures Blaze and her had to suffer their whole childhood.

While Rouge grabbed Blaze some new clothes and made her food, Shadow remained in bed, not exactly sleeping, just not willing to wake up and face the day. He wasn't able to sleep either, simply because of the massive headache he gained from vomiting. An hour after Rouge left with Blaze, he stood from the bed, and the moment his feet hit the floor his whole body was injected with lead and he had to sit back down to avoid passing out. It took three tries, but after the third he managed to stand up and walk to the bathroom to take a shower. Once he was washed and dressed he walked to the kitchen where he knew the two girls would be. There were empty plates on the table, but the girls weren't there. He looked around the house calling out their names, but he didn't find them. Immediately he panicked and started screaming their names, to which again no one answered to. Eventually he found them, sitting outside on the grass in his backyard. For a moment he felt like breaking another plate since he felt so stupid for panicking, but he refused the urge to and instead walked outside to the girls.

His backyard was relatively small, fenced in, and the only thing that was in it was grass, nothing else. They were sitting in the middle of the lawn, talking, and both of their bodies jumped when they heard his footsteps approaching. They turned around to find an angry hedgehog looming over them with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Rouge, you didn't say that you were going to be outside. I was worried about you." He emphasized _you_ to show that he was only concerned about Rouge's well-being, and not Blaze's.

"Well, you were sleeping Mast-Shadow, and _we_ didn't want to wake you," she snapped back to him.

He sighed. "Well, just tell me if you're going outside next time. You don't know what" -he looked at Blaze- "or WHO could be out here." And he walked back into the house to make himself something to eat, wondering if he would be able to keep it down in his stomach this time. With the hedgehog gone, Blaze let her smile transform into a quizzical look, not understanding what the hedgehog meant when he said _you don't know who could be out here,_ but Rouge understood him. No matter what she tried or said, he wouldn't believe that Blaze isn't in on any sort of scheme that Mephiles and Silver created. He also wouldn't believe that Blaze wouldn't lead those two to his house. Why did he think that Blaze would form a plan with those two and ultimately betray her own friend, the only one she has?

"Rouge, why is Master Shadow so hostile towards me?" Blaze asked her, picking up some grass in her hand and rolling it around in her fingers. The quizzical look vanished as soon as it came, but the smile that returned to her face looked rather fake, as if she was forced to smile. This was the first time Rouge had noticed it.

"Oh, he's like that with everyone." Rouge didn't feel comfortable telling Blaze that Shadow didn't trust her. She didn't know how she would react. But after their agreement yesterday, Rouge knew that it was the most sensible thing to do, even if she knew in her heart that Blaze was being truthful to them. And if_ she_ didn't explain to Blaze Shadows suspicions about said cat, then the only other being to give her an explanation would be a bullet through her head courtesy of Shadows handgun.

_The best thing to do is to be blunt about it. I know she isn't hiding anything, but Shadow won't believe me until I show him virtual proof._ "Blaze, you seem to be very… content. And happy; is something wrong?"

"What's wrong with being content and happy?" she said with a smile.

"Well, let's be honest Blaze, there's nothing to be happy about. I mean, Silver knows by now that you've run away, and he's probably furious. And you know that he's told Mephiles. Aren't you a little scared about him finding you?"

"Master Mephiles already knows," she said plainly.

"What?"

"… I mean, yeah, you're right, Master probably did tell Master Mephiles. But they won't find you, or me, here. We ran too far away. They won't find us."

"Yeah, but I would be a little worried. I mean, now we've got your Master _and mine_ trying to locate us. You know they're going to search everywhere for us. Heh, when I first came here, to Shadows house, I was so worried that Mephiles would come bursting through the door any minute and take me back. I wouldn't leave Shadows side for a minute. But he told me that he would protect me, and that he wouldn't let them find me. It took me a while, but I trusted his word."

"I know they won't find us. And even if they do…"

"Even if they do what?"

"Never mind. So, why is Master Shadow so mean to me?" she asked again. The tone she was using was one Rouge never heard from her before. And the question she was asking was even more confusing than the owner of the voice that said it. She lived with men who hated her and treated her horribly her whole life; in an immoral way, it should be natural to her, as it was to Rouge. She's lucky Rouge managed to convince him to give her a chance and let her stay for a while, instead of shutting the door on her. The white bat didn't know how to respond.

"He's like that to everyone." _I really don't want to tell her…_ Half of her wanted to blurt out Shadow's true opinion of her, but the other half was hesitant.

"You already said that Rouge. And he's not like that to you."

"Yeah…" _But it's the right thing to do._ Voice of reason and voice of foolishness were fighting against each other. It was on the tip of her tongue, but her throat could not find the voice to say it. She wanted to melt into the grass she was sitting on, and not have to deal with this decision.

"So, why is he so angry at me?"

"I… um…" _What will she say? What will she think?_ Somewhere in the midst of it all, her voice of reason won the battle, and before she could stop the words from coming out, she started to say, "Blaze, Shadow doesn't-"

"Is it because he doesn't trust me?" Blaze interrupted.

**XXXXX **

_Well, at least I didn't have to say it…_ Rouge thought to herself, her mouth agape at what she just heard. Truthfully, a small part of her wasn't surprised at what Blaze said. Like herself, Blaze gained a lot of intellect and intelligence during her childhood, despite never going to school or even being in an orphanage (Blaze was taken from her parents as a baby.) She was naturally smart and learned a lot about the unjust world she lived in. She also learned about the people that would own her, and she got to experience them at only four years of age. Unlike Rouge, she had more than one Master, Silver being her most recent. After years of practice, she was able to read them like a book and knew exactly what they wanted when they wanted it. She could tell what they were thinking and eventually became less of a slave because of this talent. She told Rouge that this was the reason most Masters got rid of her rather quickly. She was too talkative, too open, and she knew too much. She was becoming more of a Master than a slave. Rouge didn't understand it at first, but now she did. Blaze wasn't stupid. She read Shadow the same way she read every other Master she had. And she knew he wasn't happy about her being here.

Despite already knowing, Rouge asked her, "Why would you think that he doesn't trust you?"

Blaze said, "He didn't believe my story. And he's very mean to me. And frankly, I don't think he likes me very much."

"Well Blaze, I guess I should've told you this earlier but, you're right, Shadow _doesn't _trust you. He thinks that you're making your story up, and that you're in on a plan created by Mephiles and Silver. I know, it sounds crazy, but it's the truth. But don't worry, I trust you. You know I do."

Blaze's eyes were wide, and her smile turned into a line on her face. She picked up some more grass and played with it nonchalantly, thinking through what Rouge said. "That's why he's angry at me? He doesn't trust me?" Rouge nodded.

Letting the grass fall from her palm, she looked at Rouge with a serious expression planted on her face. "Rouge, you know that I would never lie to you. You know that right?"

"Yes, I do! Of course I do, Blaze. But Shadow has his suspicions. He needs to see that you're in this for real, that you're not hiding anything. Because I know you're not."

Angrily, the angriest Rouge has seen her since she got here, Blaze dug up a small patch of grass with her nails, and crumpled the poor blades in her paw. "Why do I need to prove anything to him? He doesn't mean anything to me! He's just a filthy Master like all the others. They all want the same thing: to fuck us and abuse us. I don't need to tell him anything. _You_ believe me Rouge, and that's all I need."

Those words sent an icy sting through Rouge's heart, and she was surprised Blaze reacted the way she did. Rouge liked Shadow, and had feelings for him that she had for no one else. She didn't even care if he had those same feelings for her, as long as she could be his friend, which was all she wanted. But what Blaze just said about him; those words could not go unpunished.

"Don't you dare say anything bad about him, Blaze. He's more than just a Master. He actually cares about me, and he never treated me the way Mephiles treated me. And if you just talked to him and told him more about yourself, I know he'll see that you're not hiding anything. Just give him a chance, Blaze." _Hmm, that line sounds familiar._

"Maybe if he was a slave, then I would give him a chance. But you know me Rouge; I don't do anything for Masters out of the lines of serving them. That's it. I don't converse with them."

"But if you don't talk to him, he'll…"

"He'll what?"

_Well, here's your chance to be blunt about it_. "He'll kill you." _That didn't sound right. _"I mean, he won't kill you, he just won't let you stay here anymore." _Not exactly lying, but…_

Regardless, Blaze didn't look at all worried or even frightened. "He won't get the chance Rouge," she said quietly. "Let me stay here one more night, that's all I need, then I'll turn myself in to the Slavehouse."

This struck Rouge as rather odd. Why would Blaze want to go back to the SH after she just ran away from Silver to find her? "But that's the first place Silver will look for you."

"Maybe so, but I've been to the SH more than enough times. I don't stay there for long. Masters look for white collar slaves, because they're only for sex, unlike your black collar. _That you used to have."_ She tainted the last line with envy.

She was right though. Masters don't usually want black collar slaves because they cook, clean, and do other things along with serving their Masters (you know what I mean by serving.) They get tired out and weak easily and die quicker than white collar slaves, and most importantly they cost more. Blaze would probably be bought again in a week or two by some other Master and her whole process would start over. But Silver would surely find her in a SH before any Master could buy her. And she didn't seem to be worried at all.

"I'm not talking to Master Shadow, Rouge. And I can easily see that he doesn't want me here. And he has every right to have his suspicions too. So just tell him that I'll stay for only one more night, and then he could send me back to a SH. I don't care if he trusts me or not. Tell him I'm thankful to him for letting me stay here, and I'll do whatever I can to repay him. But he doesn't need to worry about me."

"But _I_ still worry about you Blaze," Rouge said. "I think you're going about this too carelessly. Silver will find you, take you back, and he'll make you tell him where you've been. And then ultimately Mephiles will learn where _I've_ been." Thinking about this inevitable future that could truly happen if Blaze were to put her small plan into action made Rouge shudder in fear, and she brought her knees up to her face and covered her body with her arms, trying to push this bad thought out of her head.

"Rouge, I would never sell you out like that," Blaze said. "I wouldn't tell Master that I've seen you. I would lie to him. But I wouldn't ever mention you. Or Master Shadow. Okay?"

"No it's not okay. I don't want you to have to go back to him. You don't deserve that life, Blaze."

"What other option do you have in mind then?" Blaze said matter-of-factly.

"Talk to Shadow. I know you don't want to, but if he sees that you're not lying about anything, he won't be so mean to you. And he'll let you stay here."

"As his slave?"

"No! As a normal person, like me. We can forget all about Mephiles and Silver. Once you tell Shadow that you aren't lying about your story, we'll turn them into the police, and never have to worry about them again. Don't you want that?"

The cat's expression did not falter, but Rouge saw the small hint of hope in her eyes. Well, maybe not hope, but there was definitely something there. She could tell her friend wanted what Rouge just offered her. Who wouldn't want that life? To give up having to serve somebody else and to just live normally, just like Shadow said Mobians used to live like, before the new laws. Why would Blaze want to give herself up to a SH and have to relive serving somebody, when she could have the life that slaves dreamed of having? With help from Rouge, Blaze could convince Shadow that she isn't hiding anything, and he'll let her stay, Rouge knew he would. So why wasn't she responding?

Rouges words were running through the cats mind, and in one simple turn of her head she symbolically tossed those words away, and replied, "Forget it Rouge. I don't want to talk to him. He wouldn't do that for me, anyway. Maybe for you, but not for me. If Master does find me in the SH that I go to, and takes me back, and then gets arrested by you and Master Shadow, then it'll be okay because I'll be bought by someone else, and life will remain the same for me. And for you. You have a good life here Rouge, and I'm happy for you. But that life isn't for me."

**XXXXX**

Rouge finally understood Shadows frustration at all of the lies she told him when he first brought her here. She was the one lying, so she didn't feel the aggravation he did when he tried to slowly pry out every truthful detail of her situation. Ironically, she was feeling that aggravation now, and Shadow wasn't. "Now _I'm_ starting to believe that she is hiding something," Rouge said, taking a small sip of water from her glass, looking at Shadow from across the kitchen table. She explained to him everything Blaze and her talked about, and his mood went from sour to happy.

"What does it matter, Rouge? Who cares if she's lying or not? She has her situation planned out already, there's nothing left for us to do," Shadow said, a little too happily.

"Oh, so _now_ you believe her? You're not worried about her lying? What if she's lying about _this_ Shadow, hmm?"

"It wouldn't make a difference. She said she'll be gone by tomorrow. And besides, how would she be able to tell them where you are if she's in a SH? And even if they find her there, that gives us some time to finally tell the police and turn them in. This problem actually solved itself. She won't be able to tell them if she's in a SH, and by the time they get her out of there, _if _they get her out of there, we'll have already turned them in. It's perfect!" For probably once in his life, Shadow was actually smiling. He would personally bring Blaze to the SH tomorrow morning, and right after he did so he would finally be able to call the police. He didn't think this situation would resolve so quickly, but it did.

Rouge would've liked to believe Shadow. And Blaze. She would've also liked to see the smile on Shadows face. But the tears forming in her eyes made this latter task rather difficult. Shadow noticed the tears and quickly ran to her side and asked, "Rouge, what's the matter?"

With her throat tight with tears, she managed to spat out, "I don't get it Shadow! Why would she sell herself out like that? Any other slave would definitely choose the life you gave me instead of the one they already live. Why won't she listen to me!"

Even though it's been a while since Rouge last cried, Shadow held her in his arms like he was accustomed to doing, and said, "I don't know Rouge. It does sound rather stupid, but it's her decision. I don't know why she would want to go back and risk them finding her there."

She looked up at Shadow. "You _would_ let her stay here, wouldn't you? If she chose what I offered her, you would let her live like me once all of this is over?"

_No_, he thought to himself. _I wouldn't want to let her stay._ But to say no to Rouge now would crush her. He didn't understand why Blaze would leave them, after risking her life to find Rouge in the first place. If she was so comfortable with letting Silver find her in a SH, after she ran away from him, then why did she run away from him? Shadow still wasn't convinced that she wasn't hiding anything, despite what Rouge said. This girl was confusing, conniving, and a dirty liar. To be so happy one moment then snap at him, and now at Rouge, the next, told him that there was also a mental problem mixed in with her personality. Shadow didn't know why or how Blaze planned her little plan, and as of now he didn't care. The best thing to do in his mind would be to get rid of her, and turn those two in once and for all. But Rouge wasn't going to settle for that.

"Yeah, I would let her stay. If I knew she was being truthful." For once Rouge didn't snap back with '_she is being truthful Shadow_!', so he knew that finally she was starting to suspect something too. She didn't answer him back, but just continued crying into his arms. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Blaze staring at the two of them from the hallway. She was trying to be incognitos, hiding herself behind the wall, but Shadow wasn't about to let her sit and watch this free show. Without looking her way, he said, "I know you're standing there, Blaze." His voice was cold and unforgiving. Rouge immediately looked up and her eyes locked onto the cats amber ones. She was about to walk away, when she heard a voice from the kitchen say, "Don't move, I want to talk to you." The voice was Shadow's, so she had no choice but to obey.

She stood in the hallway, waiting patiently for Shadow to walk over to her, kicking herself mentally for letting herself get caught by him. He would probably punish her for eavesdropping. Eventually he came over and led her to the living room, away from Rouge. She noticed that he was a little taller than her own Master, and a lot more intimidating. She also couldn't help but notice his terrifying resemblance to Master Mephiles. The black hedgehog was going to talk to her standing up, but decided against it and instead walked past her and sat on the couch, motioning for her to do the same. She sheepishly sat beside him, a short distance away from him, and waited for him to start talking. This was the last thing on Mobius he wanted to do, but maybe, just maybe, he would be able to get some truth from this girl.

**XXXXX**

"Okay, you and I didn't really start out that well. You're terrified of me and don't like me, and I don't believe jack crap of what you're saying. How about we try to fix this, huh?"

_No_, she thought to herself. She didn't want to have a conversation with this man. But she had no idea of what he was capable of doing to her if she disobeyed him. So begrudgingly she mumbled, "Yes Sir."

"Good. So, from what you've told me, you ran away from Silver to find Rouge." He was going to start small, since he didn't know this girl "intelligence level" so to speak, and he was also going to start with the element that mattered most to him: the truth. She answered him with a quiet "Yes Sir," and kept her eyes down to the ground, not looking up once. Shadow continued, "You risked your life coming all the way here to find her, and neither Silver nor Mephiles know that you ran away?"

"They probably know now," she mumbled.

"Right, but they didn't find out until Silver came home and saw that you weren't there?" She didn't answer him directly after this question, but instead her eyes squinted tightly as if the words he just said were floating around in the air and she was trying to read his sentence over. "Why would you ask a question like that?" she asked a little too accusingly.

"Because I can," he said simply. "Answer it."

"Yes, I guess that's when they found out that I was missing. Are we done asking questions now, Sir?"

He leaned back into the couch and took a deep breath. "Not even close. Blaze, I'm asking you these questions because I need to know the truth."

"I've already told you the truth!"

"No you haven't. At least I don't think you have. I know you're hiding something from me and Rouge. Something's the matter, and I need to know what it is." He made sure his words were strict and intimidating, and thankfully his frightening demeanor seemed to work slightly on her.

She looked up from the floor, her face serious yet somewhat scared, almost quizzical as well. Her eyes shifted, and she answered him, "I'm not hiding anything. Why do you think I am?"

"Let's just say I have my suspicions. And so does Rouge. I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me that you aren't lying about anything."

He could practically see her heart beating out of her chest. If only he could hear what was going on in her head. Was he really getting through to her, or was this just another act of hers?

She forced herself to stare into those piercing red eyes, and said with words that felt so heavy on her tongue, "I'm not lying about anything." After she did this she returned her eyes to the floor. Shadow felt a weight being lifted from him, but then another weight being put on, which was heavier than the first. The name of the first weight that left him was suspicion, and he was glad to be rid of it. For now, of course. But the second weight, he couldn't tell what its name was, or why it was there.

Did he believe her, despite his mind giving up his suspicions about her after that one sentence? He couldn't exactly say. But it didn't matter at this point. He could keep his opinions to himself. It was her that revealed to him that she wasn't lying. She looked him in the eyes and told him. And the way she said that sentence was so believable that it would almost be foolish of him to not believe her. Almost.

"Okay, so you confided in me that you're telling exactly and only the truth?" She put her head down lower, and Shadow took that small gesture as a nod. "So, if you're not lying, and you really did run away, why are you willing to leave here and run the risk of them finding you somewhere else?"

She didn't answer him, so he asked another question. "You risked your life running away from Silver just to find Rouge. You said you knocked on every door on my block until you found her. Why would you even think of leaving her just to be in some SH again and be sold to someone else, or to have them find you? It's ludicrous." Again, no answer. But he could tell his words were running through her head, and she was thinking about them intently. "You just got here Blaze, and already you're willing to get up and leave and literally go back to being a slave?"

"I didn't…" she mumbled, the rest of her sentence too quiet for him to understand.

"What?"

Finally, she looked up and blurted out, "I didn't think _you'd_ be here with her." And for some reason he felt a small pain go through him when he heard that. He wasn't one to feel rejected, either, but something about the way she said it (and the way she says everything) didn't sit right with him. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"When I saw Rouge at the mall, I only saw her, not you. I didn't know she was with someone, or that she found another Master."

"Well, she couldn't have been at the mall alone. Who did you think she was with?"

"I don't know what I thought. It all happened so fast. But I didn't think she was with someone like you."

"What's wrong with someone like me?"

Again, she didn't answer him as soon as he would've liked. When she finally did answer, the answer she gave was another question. "You wouldn't let me stay here and live normally, would you?" She completely ditched his question and moved on to her own. And Shadow was curious as to why she would think that.

"Why do you think that I wouldn't let you stay?"

"You're already risking your life housing Rouge like this. You have no idea the trouble you both could get in if anyone finds out."

"I do know the risk I'm running and I do know the trouble, but I don't care, and neither does Rouge. We like living like this and we're going to continue living like this until we die." Blaze's head dropped again, and her face turned from serious to just sad. Was this what everything was about? This is why she wanted to run away from him, and go back to a SH? Simply because she didn't believe that he would let her stay? "Blaze, now that I know you aren't lying about anything, I will let you stay here. Rouge and I have everything planned out for their arrest. After that, no one needs to know that you're not living as a slave and everything could be normal for all three of us. Don't you want that?"

His last sentence seemed to rub her the wrong way, because she didn't answer him. After a long pause, she said, "May I leave?" but before waiting for her response, which was a definite "no" from the hedgehog, she left and presumably went to the bedroom. He never received an answer to his question, which, after his entire interrogation of her, was the one answer he really needed. Rouge's conversation with her and his conversation with her both gained them virtually nothing. Shadow knew there was a reason as to why Blaze would want to leave them so quickly and go back to being a slave, even when she was presented with the life she always wanted. But he didn't know what that reason was. He didn't want to tell Rouge that Blazes mind still didn't change, but he would have to anyway. The new weight that was placed on him was unfortunately much heavier than the first. He still didn't know the name of this weight, but it didn't matter. This new weight didn't need a name. All it needed was to leave. And he knew the weight wouldn't leave until he knew Blazes entire story, lies and all.

**XXXXX **

**I always wanted to write an interrogation scene. O.o Don't ask why…**

So as a summary, we have Blaze suddenly wanting to go back to the SH, even after running away from Silver to find Rouge. Why would she possibly want to leave her best friend and the life she always dreamed of? Is Shadow the reason? Or is there something much worse? I swear to God and Jesus that every question in your head right now will be answered in the next chapter, that is a promise!

Have a great 4**th**** of July and I'll see you all very soon! **


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24 It's Like The Twilight Zone**

"What do you mean, that's all she said?"

"That's all she said. Nothing more! What else do you want me to say?"

"But that… doesn't sound like her."

"Well, maybe to you. But that's what she said to me. End of story."

Shadow returned to the kitchen where Rouge was patiently waiting for Blaze and him to finish their little talk. He explained to her everything Blaze said, which wasn't much to begin with, and still none of their questions were answered. Shadow was starting to get agitated, whilst Rouge remained sitting on her chair, crying quietly. He couldn't stand seeing her like this, and the fact that Rouge's own friend was the one making her cry, it made his stomach turn as he tried to console her in any way he could. But he knew the only way to put things back to the way they were would be to get rid of the one thing that turned everything upside down in the first place.

"But we can't send her back, Shadow! They'll find her there! I can't let you do that to her!"

Blaze never answered his question as to why she would want to go back to the SH. Because of her hesitance to answer this one question truthfully, he came to the conclusion that whatever the answer was, it was something Rouge and him were not supposed to know about. He couldn't stand another gruesome session of Q&A with this cat; she had to go. The longer she stayed here, the worse Rouge became and the more aggravated Shadow became. He was not about to let this girl, this _slave_-girl, ruin his life.

The rest of the day went on, ending with the same result the previous day ended with. In short, the day was wasted. But Shadow didn't mind. Blaze confessed to them that she wanted only one more day with them, and he gave that one day to her. But he couldn't see why she needed it. The purple cat stayed locked in the guest room for most of the rest of the day, and no amount of persuasion from Rouge managed to get her out. Shadow gave up on trying to do _anything_ with this girl, since the end result was more or less unpleasing. The only thing left for him to do would be to bring her back to the SH tomorrow morning. After that, her life would mean nothing to him.

The only time Blaze did come out of the room was very late at night, almost ten hours after she locked herself in. Shadow guessed that she would be hungry by now but he didn't feel like he should be responsible for feeding her. He heard the doorknob give a small click, then the loud creak of the door, then small faint footsteps coming closer. He would've gotten up and confronted her, but Rouge was using his lap as a pillow. She waited the entire day for Blaze to come out, crying on and off, and after hours of waiting she finally collapsed onto the hedgehog and fell asleep. He wrapped his arm around her small form and held her close, feeling somewhat guilty. He knew how hard this was for her, and he felt like his consolations weren't helping her. He feared that after he turned Blaze back, and arrested those two, that she would remain like this. Fortunately his thoughts were interrupted by Blaze, who sheepishly walked into the doorway of the living room and stared at Shadow. Her eyes shifted from the hedgehog to the sleeping bat next to him, curled up on the couch peacefully. He waited for her to say something but she seemed too mesmerized by Rouge, and she remained quiet for the longest time.

Unfortunately, not long enough. She said in a soft tone, and for once without a smile on her face, "Can I have something to eat?"

"No," Shadow said evilly, with no remorse whatsoever. He felt his lips curl up into a small smile when he saw her eyes grow wide with surprise.

"You expect me to feed you after the way you walked out on me while I was waiting for my answer? And after what you've done to Rouge? Piss off." He was glad that Rouge was sound asleep so he could be able to say these things to Blaze without any reprimand from the white bat. In retrospect he was probably being a bit too mean, but in reality he didn't have a collar around his neck, and she did. So what he said goes, even if he confided in her that playing the role of Master was wrong in his book.

He could tell she didn't know what else to say after that. He didn't think she had the guts to fight with him. But there were other options for her to choose from.

"Please, Sir?" Begging was one of those options.

"No. You don't deserve food."

She walked over to him and knelt down at his feet, looking at his lower regions then back up to his face. "Serving him" was another option apparently.

To avoid feeling even an inch of temptation, since he knew damn well that she would service him if it meant she would get food in return, he picked Rouge up from the couch and carried her bridal style to his room, and placed her down on his bed. Blaze followed him into his room, and because he didn't have a door on his room he wasn't able to keep her out. Once finished with tucking Rouge in and kissing her goodnight, he walked out of his room, brushing past Blaze. When he didn't hear footsteps directly behind him, he walked back to his room to make sure that Blaze wasn't doing anything to Rouge as she slept.

Fortunately she wasn't. She was simply standing at her bedside, watching her sleep. He was amazed at how long Blaze stared at Rouge, and he wondered what was so interesting about doing it. He left his room and returned to the living room to watch T.V., after being assured that Rouge was okay. A small time later Blaze came back in and this time she said, "Can I get myself something to eat then?"

"No. Go away."

"But I'm hungry," she whined. He didn't answer her, but completely ignored her.

After gathering up enough courage to ask again, she walked over to him and gently nudged his arm to get his attention, but before she could ask he quickly grabbed her hand and smacked it. She yelped at the sudden pain and backed away slightly.

"Don't fucking touch me," he said maliciously.

She pushed the tears back into her eyes and said with a closed throat, "You didn't have to hit me."

He jumped from the couch and walked over to her. He was a few inches taller than her, and much stronger. She backed away from him but he grabbed her arm tightly and held her in place. "Don't you fucking talk to me like that! You have no fucking idea how bad I want to just punch you in the face right now, but I won't, the only reason being because you're friends with Rouge, and I don't want to hurt her anymore than you did."

Wincing at the pain in her arm, she tried wriggling out of his grip but to no avail. "I didn't hurt Rouge!" she said.

This was news to him. Was she really that oblivious to what she was doing to them? He grabbed her other arm but loosened his grip on her, allowing most of the pain to dissipate, but rendering her now helpless as he continued to hold her in place. "You honestly have no idea?" She looked at him questioningly. "I didn't hurt Rouge. I don't want to hurt her, but- ow, please let go of my arm!" He didn't let go, after hearing how ignorant this girl was, all he wanted to do was end her life. But he knew that murder would get him nowhere. He continued holding her in place, and said through gritted teeth, "You stupid girl, are you really that oblivious to what you're doing to her? You're hurting her more than any stupid Master could! All she wants is for you to have the life she was able to receive. She doesn't want you to return to those guys, or to be bought by someone else. She doesn't understand why you're acting like this!"

For only a moment her eyes locked onto his and the hedgehog could swear he saw a tear leave one of them, but there was no remnants of it on her face. She said, "B-but I'm not acting weird. What does she mean?" Her skinny arms were like ice and he suddenly felt a sticky liquid on his fingers. Looking down he noticed that his iron grip on her frail skin caused some wounds to open back up but her facial expression didn't show that she was in any pain other than the pain inflicted from his grip on her. Ignoring the small cuts he said to her, "Your story doesn't make sense and she's worried about you. She wants to know why you bothered to run all this way to find her, and then suddenly change your mind about staying here with her. Your whole endeavor would be in vain if you leave."

"Because you're here with her," she stammered out. Her eyes were darting back and forth as if she was looking for a way out. He could tell she was getting overwhelmed by everything but he wasn't about to let her go just yet. There was still an unanswered question. "Yes, you said that, but I already told you that I would let you stay. We could all live together and not have to worry about anything. But for some reason you don't want that life. Instead you want the life that other slaves would throw away in an instant. Other slaves would kill to have even a taste of the life I'd give them."

"I know they would…" she said without any further explanation.

"If you know that, then why are you so eager to leave us? Why do you want to go back to the SH! Why?" he screamed at her.

Finally, the tears that she allowed to well up in her eyes streamed out, and with Shadows arms still holding her she collapsed onto the floor on her knees. She brought him down with her and he sat there on his knees watching her as she cried. He let go of her arms but she didn't take the opportunity to run away. In a softer tone he said, "Please, just answer that one question. That's all I'm asking. Just that one little question. I don't care how stupid or hateful the answer might be, just answer it please."

She didn't respond. He could easily tell he wasn't going to get an answer tonight. Or ever. He tried twice to get this girl to answer him, but again he didn't prevail. And he wanted that answer, too. Not for himself, but for Rouge. With everything escalading so quickly, Rouge was becoming sick with worry for Blaze and Shadow felt a jagged pain go through him every time he looked at her crying face. He promised Rouge that he would protect her, but he didn't think he would have to protect her from her own friend. He was determined to keep his promise no matter what. Would the third time be the charm? Maybe if he asked one more time he would finally get an answer? He convinced himself that he would never know, because he was through with asking. He was through with this girl.

**XXXXX**

She walked away from the hedgehog to the guest room and locked herself in again. Her hands were on her face so Shadow guessed that she was still crying, hard. He stood up from the floor and ran through the sentences that were just spoken, and ended with a heart-shattering 'no answer.' That was all he wanted from that girl. But the line between what he wanted and what he got was extremely blurry and impossible to push out of his head. Sitting back down on the couch he shut the T.V. off. He didn't feel like watching anymore. He barely ever watched T.V. to begin with. The lives of the people on the television were so easy and happy, and of course, they were all Masters. They were fancy celebrities who received everything and didn't have to give anything in return, aside from cheap entertainment which Mobians call television nowadays. But celebrities were also the stupidest people on Mobius. They were completely ignorant to the horrors that people who weren't deemed 'good enough' have to go through. Celebrities loved the Governments new system of slavery, and they would never have to worry about a family member being taken away from them and put into the terrible system. They would never have to go through any of this.

Shadow hated them as much as he respected them. They were stupid and blind, yes, but he would be lying if he said his life was better than theirs. In a matter of what, three weeks now? He completely lost count of the days. Anyway, in this small amount of time, he managed to find a runaway slave-girl, learn her heart-breaking story, turn her into a normal person, lose his job because of her, concoct a plan to arrest her tormentors, push aside that plan to make way for her friend, yet another runaway slave-girl, learn _her_ (untruthful) story, decide that she will stay with them and help them, learn that she doesn't want to stay with them and instead wants to risk going back to the SH, and now he's sitting here contemplating all of this which in short is getting him nowhere.

"How did I manage to fuck my life up this badly?"

Leaning back into the couch, he could hear Blaze's soft cries coming from the other room. Even though he despised her, he felt so much guilt in his heart. Maybe that was the name of the new weight he just received? Guilt? He wasn't in the mood to think about it, and decided that whatever the name of it was, he didn't want to know. What he wanted to do was melt into the cushions of the couch, leave this life of his and just forget about this mess he helped create. It was turning him upside down, making him sick and torturing him. It was relentless. It wouldn't stop until…

Well, that was just it. He _didn't _know when it would stop.

What were the names of those old shows he and Maria used to watch? They were black and white and never ended on a happy note. He particularly liked those shows because the characters always suffered in the episode, and as a young kid on ARK he enjoyed watching other people's lives be ruined by day-to-day events. What was the name of it? Oh yes, he remembered, "The Twilight Zone." They were mysterious and fictional and sometimes even depressing, but what he liked most about them was that there were humans actually acting in them, not Mobians. The show wasn't on anymore, no reruns. No television show created by humans was on anymore. But it wasn't the fact that he could never see that old show ever again that made him upset. It was the fact that his life was turning into "The Twilight Zone." Mysterious characters, dark sarcastic plot devices, unexpected twists and horrific fantasy, and things that you would find in a sitcom all became real life for him. In other words, it was fucked up.

**XXXXX**

Y_ou don't have time to feel sorry for yourself, Shad. You have things to do._

As much as he hated to admit it, he did have things to do. The first thing on his list was to get rid of Blaze. Ironically, the first thing on his list was actually the last thing to be added. Getting rid of Blaze was erased from his list once she confessed to him that she wasn't hiding anything. But it was re-added when he was unable to get a much needed answer out of her, thus admitting to him that she was indeed still hiding something. He didn't want to get rid of her. He didn't want her to have to suffer through this life. He wouldn't want _any _slave to suffer through it. Most of all, he didn't want to see Rouge broken-hearted like this. But he felt helpless. What was left for him to do? He couldn't force the answer out of her, and he wasn't about to threaten her with rape or other kinds of torture under that category.

Strangely, the sharp sting of guilt enveloping his body seemed to get stronger when he thought about her. He knew he wasn't allowed to feel sorry for himself, but he was more than welcome to feel sorry for Blaze. Even if he didn't want to.

Before long he found himself in the kitchen, standing directly in the middle of the room. He didn't even remember walking here. Placing his hands on the counter he thought about what he was doing, knowing that it was the right thing to do but still contemplating if he should do it. Still unconvinced, he felt his hand reach for the cabinet above him and grab a ceramic bowl out. The rest was a blur to him, for he kept his eyes closed most of the time as if he was being forced to do some dastardly deed. He maneuvered his hands using his memory, not sight, and before long he found himself outside the guest room door holding a bowl of already soggy cereal in his hands.

_Did I do that?_ he thought to himself. For once his good side triumphed over his evil side and he guessed that his subconscious felt so sorry for the girl that it wanted to make her food. If that made any sense. But how did the cereal bits get so soggy so fast? With one hand underneath the bowl, one thumb holding the small spoon floating in the bowl, he knocked on the guest room door. No answer. Instead of knocking again, he called out to Blaze whom he hoped was still in there and didn't already hang herself, "I got you a bowl of… food. It's outside your door." He placed the bowl on the floor right next to the door so when she opened it (if she opened it) she wouldn't knock the bowl over with the door. Waiting for another minute there was again no response. So he walked away.

Before placing himself back down on the couch, he had to look back into the hallway to make sure what he just did was actually real and not some illusion. It was real, as he saw the small bowl still sitting in the hallway. Sitting back down he tried to make sense of it all. That small act of kindness thankfully ate away at some of the guilt trapped inside him, but he knew that a bowl of cereal wouldn't be enough to satisfy him. He didn't have much time to think about what he just did, because before long he fell asleep.

**XXXXX **

Waking up several hours later, the first thing running through his mind was that that bowl of cereal was a dream, and it wasn't real. But his subconscious came in to save the day, and convinced him quickly that he really did it and it wasn't fake. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and smoothed out his quills, putting a hand to his stomach when he heard a low growl come from it. _When was the last time I even ate?_ He could see the sun peeking through the curtains of his living room windows. It must have been close to morning. Yesterday was gone. Today was the day…

He walked back into the kitchen, drowsy from lack of a good night's sleep, and stopped when he saw an opened box of cereal. It took him a while to figure out why it was there. Then it came to him.

"Ah, the cereal I gave her," he said to himself. Why was his mind constantly trying to forget about the incident and make it seem like it didn't happen? Putting the cereal away it took him another couple of minutes before realizing-

"The bowl of cereal!" Though his tired body was in no condition to do so, he ran to the hallway and stopped at the door which contained Blaze on the other side. The bowl was in the same spot in which he left it hours ago. But it was empty.

"Hmm, so she knows how to open a door when there's something _good_ on the other side of it." He picked up the bowl and brought it to the kitchen and set it down on the table. A part of him wished that he was awake when she opened the door to take the bowl and eat it, but he foolishly fell asleep and she must have waited until it was safe to come out again, fearing that the food was a trick. Staring at the bowl he noticed a small piece of paper underneath it. He was so in tune to his own thoughts he must not have noticed it when he picked the bowl up from the floor. Grabbing the small paper he wondered whether he should open it. He knew it was from Blaze. But he didn't know why she would want to write anything to him if she knew she could just say it to him.

Fondling the folded slip he decided that he would open it. "I know I'm not going to enjoy whatever's written on this," he said. He unfolded the paper and read the small, sloppy letters written on it. And his stomach dropped to his knees. Immediately his hands turned into fists and in one small movement that would be missed if you blinked he ripped the paper in half and let the pieces fall to the floor. He was right. He didn't like what was written on the paper. And what was even worse, was that the two words written down didn't answer anything. In fact, it created even more questions for him to seek answers to now. He felt his lips turn into a snarl as he menacingly turned around and started walking down the hallway from which he just came. The two words continued floating in his mind. They were repeating themselves in her voice, over and over again.

He didn't pick up the pieces of paper. He didn't want to allow those two words the satisfaction of becoming whole again. They were ripped apart. Separately, they didn't mean anything. Together, the words turned into a penciled, sloppily written,

_"I'm sorry."_

**XXXXX**

**Okay, I lied. Your questions weren't answered in this chapter. Unfortunately, I'm dealing with a lot right now and my focus is currently bouncing off the walls. My grandfather passed away and there's so much to deal with that this story sadly gets pushed to the side. This chapter was supposed to combine with CH 25, but I didn't feel like writing CH 25 right now because I don't want it to be sloppy and badly written out of my lack of focus and concentration. So I simply made CH 24 longer, and once I get my life back to normal I'll give you the chapter you've been waiting for. My head feels like there are about 7 bullets in it and I feel like puking (just like Shadow lol).**

On the brighter side I did find this amazing video on YouTube for Sonic's 20 year Anniversary. Here's the link .com/watch?v=2vo3daqkPck&feature=feedlik if the link doesn't work copy and paste it in your address bar and if it still doesn't work the video is called Sonic's 20 Anniversary AMV/GMV (Unbreakable) by AmyVideoGamer18. I think it's fucking awesome.

Disclaimer: I do not own "The Twilight Zone." It was created by Rod Serling.  
I do not own the video link posted above. The video was created by AmyVideoGamer18. 


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25 Impromptu**

SLAM! The black hedgehog banged his fist on the door so hard that he felt the bruise start to form on his hand. There was also a dent in the door, but he overlooked it, his mind too distracted by what his sinister side wanted to do right now. He never felt his blood boil like this, his mind race with so many thoughts, and his whole body starting to ache with guilt and frustration and emotions Shadow didn't want to begin to discover. Banging again on the door, not as hard this time, he screamed, "Open this fucking door!" No answer, of course, and with every passing second he felt himself losing more and more sanity as he desperately tried to keep his grip on reality. He banged again. "You opened this door for food; you can open it for me." Silence. He wanted to punch something, preferably her skull, but in a silly attempt to keep his cool he punched the wall instead, hoping the violent attack would release some bottled up hatred.

He waited, but there was no answer. He could hear movement on the other side of the door so he knew she wasn't dead or asleep. There was only one thing that would get her to open the door. It went against everything he believed in. Well, everything he _didn't _believe in. He took a deep breath, and in an attempt to sound dominant and scary he said through the door, pronouncing every syllable clearly and slowly,

_"Open this goddamn door, or you'll see how I punish __**bad**__ slaves."_

And as silly as that may sound to anyone else, Shadow knew that it would scare the living shit out of any and every slave. And thankfully, it worked. The door opened up slowly and the purple, now crying, cat stood in the doorway, but Shadow could see that even though she was crying she looked very serious and even defiant. But she was unable to keep this unordinary stance for long. Without saying anything, Shadow grabbed her arm and led her out into the hallway and dragged her to the front door, throwing her down onto the floor by the door. "What are you doing?" she asked, holding her abused arm.

"Shut up," he said quietly. His main concern was not waking Rouge up, if he hadn't already with his shouting before. He left Blaze on the floor while he ran to the guest room she was occupying to get her things, until he realized that she didn't bring anything with her and the only things that belonged to her was her collar, leash, and sheath, the latter of which Rouge thrown out. He walked back out to where Blaze was still sitting and grabbed her by the collar and pulled her up. In retrospect he knew he was being too rough on her, mentally and more importantly physically. But he didn't allow his mind to re-consider what he was going to do. He didn't allow any new and maybe even smarter ideas to enter his head. The only thing that was allowed to stay was the phrase that he repeated over and over: _Get her out._

Locking the door behind him he led her outside, surprised at how she stopped struggling immediately after they left the house and went outside. She figured out what Shadow was planning to do with her. Her only regret was that she wasn't able to say goodbye to Rouge. But she wanted this, so, goodbye or not, she would allow the black hedgehog to do this.

Said hedgehog was now busy contemplating on how he would do this. It would be impossible to drive her there on his motorcycle, namely because there was no way in hell he would let this slave anywhere near his prized possession. It was too far to walk there. So the option he was left with was to call a cab. When his transportation finally arrived he wasted no time in getting him and his burden into the car, making sure to tie off the cats leash tightly to the seat in front of him, so any movement on her part would be an equal amount of pain and difficulty. And also, very uncomfortable, as she was now leaning forward in an awkward position with her neck low and her body trying to compensate for it. Shadow wanted to make sure that, despite how she had stopped struggling and instead went completely submissive for him, that there would be no trouble in doing this God-awful task to her. But by the look in her eyes, he could see that she was in no mood to argue. She looked completely submissive and even content with this which was odd for a slave but definitely normal for an odd-ball like herself. Besides, it _was_ what she wanted wasn't it? Shadow was simply giving her the life she felt she deserved, wasn't he?

The only emotion that was slightly notable in her eyes was a small sense of fear. It could be a number of things that were scaring her at this moment so Shadow wasn't sure what she was exactly afraid of. And again, this well-deserved sense of guilt that had enveloped the black hedgehog burned ever more fierce-fully, reminding him that what he was doing wasn't only wrong, but shameful, and all fingers pointed to him in the sense of who was to blame for this. Rouge was going to hate him, Blaze would look at him with those unforgiving fearful eyes for as long as she could, and he would feel that painful guilt forever. But, taking all of this into account, when the cab driver asked where his two passengers were headed, Shadow had no hesitation in his voice when he gave his answer.

"I need you to take me to the nearest SlaveHouse," he said.

**XXXXX**

_"Hmmm… my little white angel… I love playing with you…"_

The voice sent daggers through her spine. It had been so long since she heard it that when the figure finally said something to her her body grew cold and tears welled up in her eyes. He spoke like this when he was punishing her. He spoke like this when he was fucking her, too. His tone turned malice and hateful and every syllable was the equivalent of a slap in the face for her. His voice probably scared her more than his actions. It was disgusting, horrible, scary, and after the separation between them, she had forgotten how awful having to listen to it really was.

"But… why did you have to run away from us little Rougey?"

That voice sent another set of daggers through her body. It was different from the first but she knew who the owner of it was. It was younger than the first voice, but just as evil and sadistic. She wasn't use to this voice either, and as soon as the words hit her ears she felt a tear fall from her eye onto her cheek. The voice was nasty and ugly and she wanted to get away from it. But it only got closer and closer to her, as did the first one.

"We were afraid that… we wouldn't find you again."

"We were so worried about you…"

Lies. All lies.

Rouge felt herself gasping for breath as she woke up from her short but dreadful nightmare. For once, her nightmare was different from what it usually was. Most of the time it was re-created memories that actually happened to her, and she relived them through her slumber. This time, they were worse. These dreams never happened. But she had a feeling that they were about to.

When she did wake up it was dark in her room, but it was most likely because of the curtains being drawn on the windows. She was glad to be in Shadows room, and also glad that her nightmare was only a nightmare and nothing more. She knew what the nightmare interpreted. If they were ever to find her here, which Shadow strictly told her that such events would be prevented ASAP, the dream that she just had would come true. They would take her back and punish her for leaving. Her former Master would do things to her that weren't even relatively fathomable. Blaze's Master would aid Mephiles in disciplining his former slave. She would have to relive every terrifying moment from her past and her dreams again and again and this time she would never wake up from them. But what would hurt the white bat the most, much more than any whip on her back or knife slicing her wounds back open could ever inflict, was the lies they would tell. The hedgehog's voices would be soft, fake, but soft, and almost as if they were talking to a small child. They would tell her how upset they were to see her abandon them, and how glad they are to have her back. No, they weren't upset. They were angry. Angry that they couldn't kill her. Angry that she was able to get away from them so easily. Angry that she inspired Blaze to do the same, or so Rouge was told. And they wouldn't be glad to have her back. They would be lucky. Lucky, because they know how smart of a girl Rouge is, and how getting her back would be incredibly difficult. Those lies would tear at her soul every minute of every day until finally they decided that she suffered enough torture at their hands and she was of no use to them, and they finally killed her.

Of course, Shadow convinced her that this scenario would never happen, because he would be there to prevent it and protect her. _"I promised that I would protect you, to never let him near you again."_ There was softness in his voice when he said that, real softness. She wished she could have recorded it just so she would be able to play it over again and have it comfort her. She believed him. She believed every word. But she was so scared too. _"You're so fragile, like glass."_ She believed that too. She was fragile, and if her savior Shadow failed to keep his promise she would surely break at the hands of Mephiles and Silver.

She was shaking with fear, as she always did, and she wondered briefly why Shadow wasn't in the bed with her. She also wondered where Blaze was. But instead of going to look for them she remained in the bed and repeated Shadows kind words in an effort to try and disintegrate some of her fear. "He won't let them find me," she told herself. "He promised, he promised me that he would keep me safe. And I believe him." Because the past, well, her past at least, frightened her severely, she decided to think about the future, when all of this would be, hopefully, over. Would she stay with Shadow for the rest of her life? He made it seem that way, by removing her collar and allowing her a life of ease. Would they ever become more than friends? Rouge doubted it, but hoped for it anyway. She liked Shadow, and since she knew that she would never be able to live a life with someone else without them knowing that she technically still is and always will be a slave, she convinced herself to use the word _love _instead of _like._ She loved Shadow, and would be content with living with him even if he didn't love her back. They didn't need to be lovers, but simply good friends and housemates. Rouge didn't want to live without his safety and kindness and protection. She didn't want to live without him. She scolded herself for becoming so attached to him, just like she became attached to Mephiles. But Shadow was different. He wouldn't put so much effort in saving a slave-girl if he had no intention of ever becoming friends with her. Right?

_Stop scaring yourself and do something productive,_ her logical side told her. Although she was still tired she was in no mood of having another nightmare, so she got up and went to the bathroom to take a much needed shower. When she got out she was surprised to see no sign of Shadow or Blaze. Walking all around the house she still didn't seem them. The last place she looked was the kitchen, and still nothing. She felt herself getting worried, and she started to panic when the only answer she received when she called out their names was her own echo. She felt herself slip on something on the floor, and looking down she saw two small pieces of paper. Picking them up she read what was scribbled on them in pencil. The first paper read "I'm s." The second one read "orry." Putting them together they read the phrase "I'm Sorry."

"I'm sorry?" Rouge said out loud. She knew this wasn't Shadows hand writing, so it must have been Blaze's. But what would she write "I'm Sorry" for? And why would it be ripped in half?

Immediately, Rouge started to fear the worst.

**XXXXX**

The ride in the taxi couldn't have been any longer. Shadow purposely moved to a town that didn't have a SH near him, so now he had to sit for a half hour with this girl until they finally got there, the guilt he was feeling becoming more and more evident. Her expression was the same, never faltered once, and the hedgehog forced himself to stare out the window and ignore her.

"Sir, I'll have to ask you to please turn off your cell phone. I have too much electrical equipment up here and I'm afraid your device could interfere with it," the cab driver said. Shadow never even got a good look at the driver, whom he saw was a male grey hedgehog, at least ten years older than him, with pale blue eyes and quills that were short and jagged, unlike Shadows which were kept groomed and straight. He looked over to the equipment the driver was talking about, and indeed there were computers and wires and cameras and things that looked unnecessary for a cab driver to have. This type of equipment should be in a police car, which it was, but the government wasted money in giving taxi cars all of these excess electronics too. Forget a cell phone, even the slightest wrong touch could probably break one or more of these things. Which reminded Shadow, "Sir, I don't have a cell phone."

"Oh," the cab driver said. "Then what is that beeping I'm hearing? It's not coming from up here." Shadow perked his ears up and sure enough there was a low beeping sound that sounded like a cell phone. But he didn't know where it was coming from. "I don't know Sir," he told the driver. "I don't have a cell phone on me."

"Does_ it_ have a cell phone?" He gestured his head to Blaze, referring to her as an _it _rather than a _she._ "No, _she_ doesn't," Shadow said.

Forgetting the beeping sound, the cab driver looked back and gave Blaze a small smile. "She's pretty cute," he told Shadow. Blaze didn't look up, or even acknowledge the compliment. Shadow simply shrugged. He wasn't in the mood to have a conversation with anyone, but he knew that talking to someone would take his mind off of what he was planning to do with her. "You have any slaves?" Shadow asked the driver, which was redundant to ask because he already knew what the answer would be.

"Yeah, three of them," he said.

"Three? They probably give you a lot of trouble, no?" Shadow said carelessly.

"No, I paid to have them all properly trained." He talked about them as if he was talking about cars, not actual people. Shadow decided to stop the conversation before he got sicker. Was this the way that all Masters talked about their slaves?

A little while later, the driver took another look at Blaze, who didn't move an inch the entire ride. Shadow almost had the urge to ask if the driver wanted to buy her from him, since it seemed he took a liking to her. Before he could mention it, the driver said, "You know, a lot of Masters are doing that nowadays."

"Doing what?" Shadow asked.

"Piercing their slaves back. At first I thought it was pretty weird but now that I see it up close it looks kind of cool. I've seen some Masters who pierce the entire back in one straight line but I like the way you did it, only one on her back."

_What the fuck is he talking about?_ "I didn't pierce her back," Shadow said.

Without turning around the grey hedgehog said, "Then what's that red thing on her back?" The minute the drivers words hit the air Shadow saw a look of panic enter Blazes face. The black hedgehog examined Blazes back trying to find the piercing the driver was talking about. He didn't remember seeing anything on Blazes back before. Then again, he never remembered even seeing her _naked _before. She would always say that she didn't need help getting dressed, thus Shadow never saw her skin other than her arms and legs. But now, because she was sitting on her shirt, the more bent over she was the more of her lower neck and upper back were exposed. And Shadow could see a small red dot right under her shoulder blades. But it wasn't a piercing. Examining it closer he could see it was a small, one inch in diameter, red dot that was nailed to her skin like a piercing. There were marks on her skin all around the pierced dot that looked as if each small cut was once a place where the dot used to be, like how if you take an earring out the mark on your ear will still be there. Every couple of seconds the dot glowed red and beeped. That was the beeping the driver was hearing before.

"It is a piercing, isn't it?" the driver asked him. "Yeah," Shadow lied. It wasn't a piercing. It was a tracking device that happened to be pierced into her skin. G.U.N. used to make these tracking devices and many others, and Shadow remembered this one. Not only was it a tracking device, but it was a wire too. It worked almost like a walkie talkie; the person who had one dot, the main dot, could hear what the person with the other dot (the secondary dot) was saying and what those around the dot were saying within a specific radius. SH's used to, and some still do, put these into slaves in case they managed to escape. That way, if they did escape, they would be able to track them. But these devices were faulty, and the tracking wasn't very accurate. That's where the walkie talkie aspect came in. Along with tracking, the dot could now pick up sounds caused by and around the slave carrying the dot, and this was extremely accurate. The dot would be able to decipher the words spoken by the slave and anyone that happened to be around them. Shadow remembered having to test these devices, and its accuracy was 100%. The device was very futuristic, and many people still use them today.

For slaves, these were usually painfully injected _into _the skin, but Blaze had hers pierced _onto _her skin. That would mean that its ability to pick up words would be easier, but piercing it into someone's skin would be excruciatingly painful. Yet, Blazes was right there on her back. And it was beeping. If he remembered correctly, the dot would beep when the user with the main dot wasn't using it. In other words, the person that was being tracked has been tracked, and the main dot was finished using the secondary dot. But Shadow didn't see the main dot on her, so he knew that she didn't have it. But he had a feeling about _who _did. And he had a feeling about why the dot was pierced on her skin. Not because someone wanted to find _her_. But because someone wanted to find the person that would be _around _her. And by the look on Blazes face when he found the dot, he could see that his crazy prediction was right.

The only words he could form out of his mouth were, "You little bitch!" And he felt that those words were 100% accurate.

**XXXXX**

Still holding the pieces of paper in her hand Rouge sat at the table and waited. She didn't know what she was waiting for, though. But there was nothing else she could do. The whole time she waited she wondered how Shadow could do something so cruel to her. She knew he was out giving Blaze back to the SH, but he couldn't even wait for Rouge to say goodbye first? Why would he do something so terrible? Without even telling her? In a crazy way, Rouge felt like this was her fault. But she couldn't explain why she felt so. _ I can't believe he would do that to me, _she thought. _Maybe I'm the one to blame? Why did he decide to do this without at least telling me?_

By the way the front door flew open and two black and purple blobs flew into the kitchen at supersonic speed (no pun intended), she felt like she would get her answers very soon._  
_  
Shadow busted his way through the front door, taking only a few seconds to close and lock it securely, and ran into the kitchen, dragging Blaze along with him. He grabbed the scruff of her neck and forced her head onto the table while he held her arms behind her back tightly. His fur was ruffled and he was breathing heavily, so Rouge guessed that he ran here. The look on his face was of absolute anger. "Shadow…?" was all Rouge could make out. "This little bitch was wearing a wire!" Shadow screamed. He let go of Blaze, who didn't dare move from her submissive and defenseless spot, and he started punching walls and repeating those seven words. He screamed so loudly in his raging fury that Knuckles could probably hear him all the way on Angel Island.

"What are you talking about?" Rouge managed to say, afraid to make a move as Shadow had his fit. He walked over to Blaze and grabbed her collar and forced her up from the table. He turned her around so her back was to Rouge and pulled down her shirt to reveal the red dot, the "wire" he was talking about. "She was wearing this the whole time she was here," Shadow said. He quickly explained to Rouge what the red dot's purpose was and how everything that Blaze said was being recorded by the person who had the main dot. And, unfortunately, everything that Rouge and Shadow said had been recorded too, since they were always near Blaze.

Rouge walked over and touched the glowing and beeping dot that was attached to Blazes skin. She felt Blaze wince slightly at the touch. "You were wearing this the whole time Blaze?" Rouge asked her. Shadow answered, "She's been recording everything we've said! I told you she was fucking lying, Rouge! I told you! And you didn't fucking believe me!" He let go of Blaze and made his way into the living room to grab something. Blaze leaned against the table, looking defeated and worried. Rouge felt an equal amount of anger and disappointment inside of her. This whole time, Blaze had been recording Shadow and her. She _was_ hiding something. And that something was as simple as a small red dot.

Shadow returned to the kitchen, his handgun in his hand. Pointing it at Blazes head he said, "I could fucking kill you for this!" Feeling the metal against her head she turned around and Shadow could see tears in her eyes. "Please, no! Let me explain!" But Shadow wasn't about to fall for that again. "Explain what? Another fucking lie of yours! I'm finished playing your little game, Blaze!" He was about to say more, but Rouge cut him off and pulled the gun away from Blazes head. "Let her explain, Shadow," she told him. "I know it sounds crazy, but I want to hear what she has to say. Even if it is a lie…"

"No, it's not. I promise, it's not a lie." The way Blaze said these words was so… odd. Rouge never heard her voice like that. It sounded so real, and honest. And for once, there was no smile on her face. She didn't look fake, like Shadow had mentioned when she first got here. She looked serious. "I'm finished lying," she said slowly, as if saying the words out loud for the first time. "I'm finished playing this game," she looked up at both of them. "This is the truth."

**XXXXX **

"If you're going to kill me, Master Shadow, please, do it after I tell you the truth. Besides, you have every right to kill me." She looked at Rouge, and there was sincerity in her face and her tone of voice. "I _didn't_ run away, Rouge. I wanted to, after I heard Master Mephiles mentioning to my Master that you managed to escape, but I didn't. I could have, though. They were so busy trying to locate you that they didn't really pay much attention to me. At first. But once they realized that it was too difficult for _them_ to find you, they made _me_ try and locate you instead. It was dumb luck that their plan actually worked when I saw you at the mall. I was surprised to see you, and regardless of whoever you were with, since I knew you couldn't be there alone, I was happy to see that you were still alive. I didn't want to tell Master Silver that I saw you, but he knew that I was hiding something and he tortured me until I admitted it." Shadow scoffed at the last part and Rouge shot him a deathly glare.

Blaze continued, "Master called Master Mephiles and told him that I saw you at the mall, but by that time you two already left. But Master Silver unfortunately found you and followed you home."

"He followed us home?" Shadow screamed. He couldn't believe that Rouge and him were tracked down that easily by a guy he didn't even know. He made sure to look behind him and get out as fast as he could. How the hell did this Silver guy manage to spot them?

"Yes, I'm sorry, but yes, he did. That's how he gave me your address and told me which house to go to. I didn't knock on every door in your neighborhood." Shadow was about to interrupt but Rouge cut in and said, "Shadow let her finish!" The story was making her sick, but she wanted to know the truth.

"Your Master and mine then came up with a plan to get you back," Blaze went on. "Their plan was to kill Master Shadow and take you back. They made me the bait. They knew you would answer the door if you saw me instead of two hedgehogs that you"- looking towards Shadow- "didn't know. I had to lie to you and tell you that I ran away from them so you would trust me. In reality, I didn't run away, they just cut me up and made me look dirty as if I did run away. They also put a wire on me so they would know if I actually made it to your house. Once they heard your voice Rouge, they knew that I succeeded. I pleaded and begged for them to not make me do this, but they forced me to. I ripped the little wire, the red dot, out of my back countless times-"

"That's why you have those small marks on your back?" Shadow recalled seeing them when she was bathing that first night. "And why you wouldn't let us see you naked? Because you knew we would see the dot if you took your clothes off in front of us?" Blaze nodded yes to all the questions. "They forced me to wear it. And once everything was in place they put their plan to action. They dropped me off at your house, made me lie to you, and also made sure that you were at this house. Now that they know where you are, Rouge, they plan to take you back."

"But why did you want to go back to the SH?" Rouge asked.

"That wasn't part of the plan. I made that up. Part of the reason why was because I didn't want to return to Master Silver. The original plan was to take me back once they came here and got you. But I didn't want to go back to them. The other part was because…" She trailed off.

"Because why?" Shadow asked strictly.

"…Because I became jealous."

**XXXXX**

"Jealous of what?" Rouge asked her.

Blaze answered, "When you told me about the life you're living with Master Shadow Rouge, I found it, at first, hard to believe. What kind of Master would keep you as a friend when they could have you as their property? I never heard of something like that. But then I saw the way he treated you. He was… so nice to you. And he cared for you. And he didn't treat you like an object. He treated you as a real person."

"And that's why you were jealous? Because she had the life you didn't have?" Shadow asked.

"Yes. The life that I _couldn't_ have."

"Bullshit. We told you that you could've stayed here with us. But you declined. You said you didn't want that life."

"I was only saying that because of _them._ I would do anything for this life. I would've gladly taken your offer. But… my forced obligation to them prevented me from doing that."

Shadow was confused. He walked over to Blaze whom backed away into the table. With a smirk on his face he said, "But you said you hated me. That you didn't like me. Why would you secretly be so willing to accept our offer if you confided to Rouge that you think I'm just a dirty mean Master like all the rest of them?"

With fear in her voice she said, "It's not that I didn't like you Master Shadow. **I got attached to you.** When I saw how nice you treated Rouge, and how you treated me, it only made me want this life more. I wanted so badly to be with you and Rouge, to live normally, but I knew I couldn't have that life. So to prevent myself from getting attached to you I distanced myself and lied and said that I'd rather go to the SH. Evidently, that didn't work."

It was silent for awhile. The weight of Blaze's heavy words sat on everyone's shoulders, and Blaze found it difficult to watch the expressions on Shadow and Rouges faces. Rouge began crying, half of her feeling rejected after being lied to by her friend, the other half feeling worried and scared. She collapsed into Shadows arms and cried into his chest, but her tears were of anger and not sadness. Shadow was holding back the urge to kill Blaze, because despite being lied to, he could see Blaze was forced into doing this. She walked up to Rouge sheepishly, feeling like a jackass, and hugged her. "I'm so sorry, Rouge. They forced me to do this. They fucking forced me to! I would never do something like this to you! But I didn't have a choice!"

With a defeated yet disgusted look on her face Rouge asked, "Is all of that true Blaze?"

Blaze nodded. "I'm so sorry I did this to you. And to Master Shadow." Shadow put his head in his hands. He felt so stupid. He had been had by a slave-girl. He briefly wished that he could go back and prevent Blaze from ever coming into his life. But it was too late now. He heard Blaze say to him, "If you're going to kill me, please do it after you turn them in. The only thing I want is to see them die. After that, you can do anything you want to me."

Truthfully, Shadow had been waiting a long time for her to say that. And truthfully, he was ready to accept her deal. But… he couldn't. He knew that he couldn't. "I'm not going to kill you Blaze."

Rouge was probably the happiest person to hear that out of the three of them, but she knew Shadow wouldn't let her off the hook that easily. "You aren't going to send her back to the SH are you?" He shook his head no. "It would be wrong of me to do that to her. She was forced to do this. They forced this plan on her. It's not her fault." It felt so foreign to him to talk like this. This was his rare side, his softer side. The side of him he entrusted into only one person in his entire life. It felt wrong, and it felt right.

Blaze looked up at Shadow gratefully. "Thank you so much Master Shadow. I'm so sorry I did this to you. I promise, I will do anything to make it up to you two. I promise."

"The only thing I want is your help. You've told us the truth. Now all I want to know is how sincere you are. Are you really willing to help us turn them in?"

"Yes, of course I am," she answered. "I want nothing more than to see them die. I never wanted to be in on this plan. Helping you is the least I could do."

Shadow smirked. "How do we know you're not lying to us about that?" It was a smart question, and also a tricky one. Blaze squinted her eyes, understanding what Shadow was saying, and with a shaking hand she reached behind her back, her face grimacing. Shadow and Rouge heard a small _plink_! and pulling her hand back she showed the hedgehog and bat the small red dot. Letting it fall to the floor she stomped on it once and cracked it, breaking it. Its senseless beeping finally ceased. Looking down at the small, now useless, red pieces, Blaze donned a look that was so rebellious it didn't show not a single crack of how much pain she must have been feeling after ripping the piercing out of her skin. "I'm not lying," she said to Shadow quietly. "I'm so sick of them… I just want them dead. I want them to suffer, for what they put me through."

"That makes three of us," Shadow said, finally putting his gun down on the table. "Are we finally going to do it then?" Rouge asked him. "Yes, we are," Shadow answered. "If there are no more" – he looked to Blaze – "interruptions."

Blaze asked, "You sure about this plan Rouge?" Her voice was shaky and anybody with a brain could tell she was nervous about what Rouge and Shadow were planning to do. She heard them talk about this plan during her brief stay here, and they even explained it to her, and even though it sounded foolproof, she didn't know if she was ready. But obviously, they were beyond ready.

"Blaze it's the only thing we could do," Rouge answered. "We've been waiting to do this forever." As she said this Shadow picked up the phone and started dialing. He was so glad to finally be able to do this. The longer he waited, the sicker and more nervous he became. Finally he would be able -

_Ding Dong!_

As he was dialing the last digit in 911, which didn't have many digits to begin with, the doorbell rang. Rouge and Blaze looked at him wondering who it could be. The first person that came to his mind was the cab driver. Considering that he literally ran out of the cab once he found out about Blazes deceit, the driver was probably back for his money that Shadow never exactly paid him. Another person that came to his mind was one of his many… um… "friends", i.e. Sonic or Tails.

Hanging up the phone that only needed one more digit for it to be connected to 911 Emergency, he gave a confused and disgusted look to Rouge and Blaze, because once again, he had been interrupted whilst he was trying to turn those two fuckers in. He walked to his front door, wishing there was a hole in it so he could see who was on the other side, unlocked it and opened it.

And as soon as he opened it, and saw who it was, a small thought ran through his mind. It lasted only a second, but he re-lived the thought, which was actually a conversation Rouge and him had when she was still a slave here and was still extremely scared:

_Sighing, he took her hand and walked with her to the living room. "Rouge, they aren't going to find you here. They don't know where I live! They don't even know of my existence! There is no way they would be able to find you here. Understand?"_

_"I'm still scared…"_

_"Don't be. Even if, by some crazy and uncouth chance, they come and find you here, I won't let them do anything to you. I promise."_

That was the thought that ran through his mind. And he remembered that happening. He remembered how confident he was. How frightened Rouge was. And how he stayed true to his promise.

And, as if by some crazy and uncouth chance, his promise would be put to the test by the man standing right outside his door. He was sure that this man, _this _man, would take his promise and crumple it into a balled up piece of nothing. It would be no mistake. No mistake at all.

Besides, it would be hard to mistake the green, snake-like eyes of the hedgehog standing right outside his door.

**XXXXX**

Review? Maybe? Please? ;)


	26. Chapter 26

**Warning: This chapter contains EXPLICIT fighting, torture, blood and gore. Read at your own risk.****  
****  
Chapter 26 Danger**

_Why couldn't you be the taxi driver?_

Why couldn't you be the mailman?

Hell, why couldn't you even be that spiky blue nuisance?

Shadow had to do a double take just to make sure that the person standing outside his door was real and not an illusion brought on by his slightly insane mind. He was real alright. And he was only five inches away from him. He felt his stomach churn, his throat gag, and his heart stop all at once. Thank goodness he skipped breakfast otherwise he would've thrown up again. The feelings stayed with him, inviting more sickening feelings to join them, and Shadow felt like he was in a dream, not remembering what happened before this moment here and not knowing when this moment was going to end.

_But you're not going to wake up from this one, stupid,_ he told himself. _This is real, so DO SOMETHING._

But Shadow did nothing. The thought of having to face this guy unprepared, with his two prizes practically waiting for him in Shadows kitchen, froze the black hedgehog in a state of confusion and complete dumbfound-ness. The most imperative piece of Shadows plan was now standing right in front of him, single-handedly erasing his entire plan and forcing Shadow to now come up with something else. How did he know? Why is he here? What…? Where…? Why…? Why? Why? But he didn't need to ask these questions. He already knew the answers to them. There was a reason Blaze told him that she needed only one more day. She knew that in one more day, Silver and Mephiles would execute the final part of their plan. They would come to his house, kill him, and take Rouge back. If Shadow had any doubt in his mind about Blazes true story, it was now completely obliterated. She was telling the truth.

He stood outside on the doorstep, not even looking at Shadow, but instead focusing on a couple of kids playing outside a few houses down from Shadows. The black and red hedgehog took this small opportunity to observe the guy he's been hearing such "wonderful things" about. It was like looking in a mirror. They were the same height, same weight, probably the same age, and the only differences between them was their highlights, Shadows being red, Mephiles being grey, and their eyes. But other than that, they could've been mistaken for twins, or at least brothers. Mephiles stood tall and proud, his eyes squinted slightly, still not looking at Shadow, his demeanor serious and almost professional even. His fur was groomed and his quills were clean and everything about him screamed rich and powerful. All he needed was a suit and briefcase, and he could be easily mistaken for a business man, and not a sadistic, disgusting, bisexual, BDSM porn star that tortured innocent and helpless slaves. Not one person in the world would guess that he was here to kill somebody.

**XXXXX**

Of course, these thoughts and observations that just ran through Shadows head only lasted about three seconds in total, though those traumatizing three seconds seemed much longer to him. He would have continued to observe the black and grey hedgehog and also try and figure out the most rational course of action he should take, but his entire body seemed to freeze when the black and grey hedgehogs head turned slightly, and their eyes connected for only a moment. The professional aura surrounding Mephiles seemed to fade once he caught his first glimpse of Shadow, and a look of relief and satisfaction was now plastered on his face. The two dark hedgehogs stared each other down for only a second, their eyes disconnecting when Mephiles raised his arms and waved them in front of his face, a purple ball of energy forming between his palms. The ball expanded until it covered his entire body, and the hedgehog vanished, no trace of him left behind. This small act, which lasted only two seconds, mesmerized Shadow. He guessed that it was some sort of chaos control, which sent Mephiles teleporting to another place. It was much different than his own chaos control, and he was, in fact, intrigued by it.

A swift punch to his face brought him out of this trance.

Without warning, a white fist connected with Shadows jaw and Shadow flew backwards, but managed to stay on his feet. Wiping some blood off of his bleeding mouth, he looked up to see who his attacker actually was. He knew it couldn't have been Mephiles. And it wasn't.

It was a white hedgehog.

_Silver,_ Shadow thought. His mind was racing with so many things, yet this one word stood out above every other word.

Silver had a nasty smirk on his face, gaining pleasure out of the other hedgehog's pain. Shadow could see that Silver was a little shorter than him, if you didn't count the white hedgehogs quills that stood straight up, almost like a marijuana leaf. He was completely white, with the exception of the small stain of Shadows blood on his glove, and his piercing gold eyes, that stared Shadow down from top to bottom. He was in a ready-to-go fighting stance, his expression telling Shadow very clearly: _I am going to kill you._

They were only inches apart, and with no hesitation Shadow reactively threw a punch which found its way to Silvers cheek, the force of the impact causing Silver to lose his balance slightly. He wiped the blood from his mouth, and began to throw another punch which Shadow easily blocked, and a small fist fight ensued between the two of them, ending with Shadow throwing Silver against the wall, breaking a painting that was hung there. Getting up, Silver ran toward Shadow and tackled him to the ground, wrapping an arm around his neck, choking him. With Shadow now underneath Silver, he tried elbowing him but failed when he felt a hard blow to the back of his head.

Silver kept a firm grip on Shadows neck, using his other arm to hold the other hedgehog down. Shadows mind was in a completely surreal daze. Half of him was focusing on the task at hand, knowing that if he didn't react soon, the arm around his throat would only grow tighter until… Another half of him was deciphering Mephiles' and Silvers plan, even though he didn't exactly need to. The roles that the two hedgehogs played were quite apparent: Silver was the one in charge of taking care of Shadow, and Mephiles was in charge of…

Oh no.

For a split second Shadow wondered about Mephiles' whereabouts, thinking about why he teleported away from Shadow, and where exactly he teleported to. But Shadow already knew the answer to that. Every person reading this knows the answer to that.

Silver was going to kill him, whilst Mephiles looked for the girls. That was their plan. Straightforward and simple, yes, but so far, their plan has been going without a hitch.

It was Shadows job to initiate that _hitch_.

The arm around his throat got tighter and he found it hard to breathe. Above him he could hear Silver uttering a few things under his breath, but he couldn't make out the words. If Shadow had been aware that Silver was prepared to beat the shit out of him the minute he opened his door, he wouldn't be in this predicament. Silver continued to choke Shadow, Shadow now unable to take in a single breath. He knew he would die of asphyxiation if he didn't do something. But there were so many things running through his head, shouting at him, that he found it hard to focus.

_Rouge, Rouge, Rouge!_ , his mind told him over and over. He tried to explain to his mind that he was a little busy at the moment, but it wouldn't listen to him. _Rouge, you fucking idiot, go save her! _ _Save her!_

Her rescue became his priority. Her capture became his biggest fear. And the throat around his neck was about to become his cause of death. Mustering up enough strength he brought his elbow up again and this time succeeded in giving the hedgehog on top of him a hard blow to his stomach, releasing the grip on Shadows neck. Shadow took in a much needed gasp of air, and he could hear the groans of the hedgehog that was now doubled over holding his stomach in pain.

_I have to save Rouge_, he told himself._ I can't let Mephiles get her. I won't let that sick bastard get to her. But this guy isn't about to let that happen._

Turning the tables Shadow took the opportunity to grab Silver and tackle him to a position of helplessness, rolling on top of him, beating Silvers face with the side of his fist. He grabbed the white hedgehog's arms and held them tightly above his head, continuing to punch him with his other hand. Without the use of his arms, Silver gathered up a wad of spit and blood in his mouth and spat it at Shadow, the pinkish fluid landing in Shadows eye. Taken aback by the sudden distraction now on his face, Silver kicked Shadow off of him with his immense strength and sent him flying through the room, landing on his rear at the other end of the room.

_Rouge, Rouge, Rouge_, his mind kept reminding him.

He didn't hear any commotion coming from the kitchen, and he didn't see Mephiles anywhere.

Both hedgehogs tried to regain their stance, shooting vengeful glares at one another. Shadow could see a slightly surprised expression on Silvers face. The white hedgehog was probably thinking, _I didn't think this black hedgehog would be so tough._ Growling, Silver flicked out a knife, and ran towards Shadow yelling, and started swinging the weapon at Shadows face. The black and red hedgehog tried hard to avoid getting cut, grabbing the hand which held the knife. Silver grabbed Shadows other hand, and now the knife fight turned into a "Who has the most strength?" fight. The knife still in hand, Silver pushed Shadow against the wall, his head banging hard against it. "Ghugh," was all Shadow could say, the impact making his head fuzzy and his arms and legs weak. Silver pushed him against it again, and to add insult to pain he stepped on Shadows foot with great force, causing Shadow to cry out.__

"Ahhh!" he screamed, growling at the albino hedgehog. Silver smiled, enjoying the other ones pain. Ignoring the shooting pain in his foot, Shadow grabbed Silver and gathered up enough strength to turn him around and push him against the wall, landing another punch on his face for good measure. The two swung back and forth, taking turns pushing one another against the wall, which now had a nice stain of blood on it.

Silver grabbed Shadow by the throat and dug his nails into his delicate skin, which started to bleed. Dragging him by his throat he walked him over to the front door that was still open and tackled him to the grass. Another fist fight ensued outside, both hedgehogs rolling over in the grass beating each other senseless. Whilst on top of Shadow, Silver sliced his knife through Shadows shoulder.

"Ahhh!" Shadow screamed. The two of them stood up, Shadow holding his now wounded shoulder, blood seeping through his glove. The second round of "Who has the most strength?" started up and in no time Silver had Shadow pushed against the door frame of the still open front door, holding his arms above his head with one hand and wielding a knife inches away from Shadows throat in the other. The inches soon turned into centimeters and Shadow tried to think of something to do or else he would meet a very Sweeney Todd- like death with his throat being slit. With his arms now tightly held by Silver he bit down on the hand holding the knife, tasting the blood on his teeth.

"Aargh, you fucker!" were the first audible words out of Silvers mouth. Shadow noticed that his tone matched his demeanor perfectly. It was vile, mean, and kind of dorky even. Shadow recalled Rouge mentioning that he did have a squeaky voice, and she was right. He sounded as deadly as he looked. No wonder Rouge hated him, and not only because he pretty much ruined her life, but because he was deceiving. He looked like a nice guy at first. No one would guess that he was bent on killing a person just so he could get his and his lovers slave back. Unfortunately, the hand holding the knife didn't move from Shadows neck, so Shadow clamped his teeth down and prepared to bite again, hoping this time Silver would drop the knife. For a mere second their eyes met, blood red staring into bright gold. It was do or die at this point, Shadow thought. The tip of the knife poked his throat. He opened his mouth, fangs at the ready, just about to land another bite onto the hand of his enemy…

"AAAAHHHHHH!"

A heart-wrenching scream came from the kitchen. It was Rouges voice. Shadow felt his heart explode.

**XXXXX**

The albino and the black hedgehog stopped their actions instantly when the horrible scream reached their ears. They whipped their heads towards the direction in which the voice came from. Silver allowed a smile to creep onto his lips. He knew the scream was Rouges voice. But the smile faded when a thought occurred to him. He still needed to hold up his end of the plan. And so far, he has been unsuccessful. The black hedgehog was still alive.

Shadow felt… well, words wouldn't be able to express the pain. His whole body turned cold, his insides burning, everything swelling up with an unbearable pain that he never felt before, not even when Maria died. He tried not to think about what could be happening in the kitchen that made Rouge scream, and instead think of a way to get there before it got worse. Before Mephiles…

No, no he promised. He promised he wouldn't let them hurt her. He swore to her that he would protect her. He wasn't about to let his promise break this easily.

Enveloped with a newfound sense of power and anger, he turned back to Silver and shoved him against the doorframe, hearing something crack, possibly a bone. He punched Silver directly in the face, breaking his nose, and continued punching hard and fast. His only option was to either kill this hedgehog or at least knock him out. That way, he could get to Rouge.

Silver was swearing and screaming, taking every available chance he had to punch Shadow back. The two were covered with blood, but neither of them were near finished. Shadow knew he didn't have time to deal with this hedgehog. He needed to get to Rouge. But this albino was preventing him from doing so.

As a last resort, he used a method that would _at least_ bring Silver to his knees.

He kicked him directly in the crotch.

And he made sure that this kick wasn't the standard "kick in the nuts." He used all of his energy to land a perfect kick to the white hedgehog's groin, certainly damaging something down there. If Silver ever lived to see the light of day, Shadow was certain that his pornography days would be over. Silver screamed, grabbing his crotch and falling to his knees, doubled over in unbearable pain.

Forgetting about the pain that was burning every inch of his body, he left Silver on the floor of the living room, hoping the albino wouldn't stand back up too soon. He ran to the kitchen, tripping over himself numerous times out of exhaustion and pain, and peered in with trepidation, automatically fearing the worst.

No one was there.

There was no blood, which meant that no one was hit. There was no mess, which meant there wasn't a struggle. And no one was there, which meant…

Gone.

Gone.

She was gone.

**XXXXX **

Something sharp shot through his heart the second his eyes took in the sight. Suddenly, he couldn't feel anything, yet everything hurt. He only ever felt this kind of feeling once before, when he watched the bullet go through Maria's chest. He swore to himself that nothing that horrendous would ever happen in his lifetime again. That was his own promise to himself.

Everything seemed to be going in slow motion, his muscles, tired from the fight, became numb and limp, but continued to be incredibly sore. His eyes stared, unblinking, at the small kitchen before him, as if something would materialize right in front of him. The room was so quiet, no evidence of anyone ever stepping foot in it. But what hurt the most, was the fact that it was empty.

The slow motion effect wore off quickly, and was replaced by the feeling of a thousand bricks flying at Shadows face at once. Written on each of those bricks was a fact that buried its way through Shadows mind and became forever branded in his thoughts. These were the several facts that burned defiantly, calling out to Shadow, hoping the black hedgehog would hear them:

_Rouge was gone._

Blaze was gone.

Mephiles was gone.

Silver was still here.

Rouge screamed.

After the scream, no other noises aroused from the kitchen.

Those were the facts. This was his assessment of his situation:

_Rouge was gone._

Rouge was gone.

Rouge was… GONE.  
  
And it was his fault.

The bitter taste of failure wrapped itself around him, squeezing tightly.

Mephiles succeeded. He knew that he would succeed. Silver was the perfect distraction for Shadow, whilst the black and grey hedgehog dealt with the most imperative piece, (_pieces_, let's not forget that Blaze was gone too), of his puzzle. He took them away, so easily, so quickly, and now Shadow was left to wonder where they were, where he took them, and what he was doing to them.

_No, no, no, NO_, he screamed at himself, kicking himself mentally. It was the only word he could say. So many emotions flooded his mind: fear, sadness, disappointment, anger… they were all there. And they hurt like hell.

Shadow thought he was going to be sick, but managed to hold it in. It felt like something inside him died, and now there was a part of him that was vacant, begging for substance. Did he really manage to fail this easily? Yes, he did. He fell to his knees in defeat, feeling tears well up in his eyes. Tears? Yeah, they were tears. He couldn't remember the last time he actually cried. He watched one fall from his chin to the floor. Rouge was gone. He let him get to her, and take her away. She must be so scared right now, wondering why he didn't save her. The simple thought of what state she could be in right now made him feel so…

Useless.

His throat tightened, and he growled at himself, disappointed at how he managed to let her slip away. Hell, she could be dead for all he knows. God knows what Mephiles is doing to her right now. It made him sick.

A cough from the living room brought him back to reality. He had almost forgotten about the hedgehog in the other room. Or, otherwise known as his distraction and "would-be" murderer.

"Silver," he felt his lips say, his throat cracking. "SILVER," this time he growled as the name left his mouth, tasting blood on his tongue. "Fucking Silver."

This was his fault. It was Silvers fault, not his. Silver was his distraction. Silver was his disturbance. Silver was… the one trying to kill him.

Well, he did a very good job with that, now didn't he?

A few more coughs came from the living room, and with each cough Shadow felt a new surge of anger run through him, energizing his body, filling him with a newfound power. The anger spoke to him clearly:_ Silver will know where Mephiles took Rouge._

And with that one line, all of Shadows sadness temporarily stepped aside. And his sadistic side took center stage. He felt his hands ball into fists, his blood boiling, everything inside of him burning up again. This was Silvers fault. And he was going to pay.

**XXXXX Warning: This scene gets pretty intense. Not for the faint of heart. **

Running back to the living room, he picked up the smaller hedgehog from the floor and slammed him against the wall.

"Where did he take them?" Shadow screamed.

Despite a broken nose, a broken bone (though Shadow wasn't sure what bone he cracked, he knew it must hurt like hell,) and a _probably_ broken penis, Silver smiled as if he was in no pain at all. "So he took them, I see," he said happily. He even laughed a little.

"Where the fuck did he take them?" Shadow screamed again, slamming him against the wall again.

"Why the fuck should I tell you anything?" Silver sneered, still smiling.

He slammed him again, hearing another bone crack. Silver howled in pain, the smile fading.

"Tell me where he took them you fucker!" He kept a tight grip on Silver, though he doubted the albino would try to get away and fight him again. "Tell me right now!" he howled, noting that his extremely loud and menacing voice was starting to scare the white one.

But Silver planned to hold up his defiant act for as long as he could. "I won't tell you shit! You shouldn't have gone around picking up slaves that were none of your business!"

Shadow punched him directly in the face. "Where did Mephiles take them?"

He looked up quizzically. "You know our names?"

"I know everything about you, you disgusting prick!" Slam! There was so much blood on the wall. But Shadow didn't care. "Tell me!"

"Fuck you!" Silver screamed back. "You should be happy, hedgehog. We just did you a favor. That slut Rouge is no longer your responsibility. Your life can go back to normal now. We can just forget about all of this right now."

Slam! "Don't you dare call Rouge that, you bastard!"

"I'll call that bitch whatever I fucking want to! She's a dumb whore anyway, who gives a rats ass about her?" He could see the anger evident in Shadows eyes. His words towards Rouge were hurting him more than whatever pain he was feeling physically. "Aww," he said sarcastically, "I bet she came crying to you for help, didn't she? Did she tell you about all the fun me and her Master had with her?"

Shadow was getting agitated. This hedgehog was tripping on his last nerve. Grabbing him, he tackled him to the ground and held him down with his legs. He started punching him as hard as he could, so hard that he actually heard Silver begging him to stop. So he stopped, namely because his fist was getting tired. He didn't give two shits about whatever pain he was inflicting on this asshole.

By this time Silver was crying, begging Shadow to stop hitting him. His defiant act was no more, and instead he held his hands in front of his face in surrender. His face was covered in blood. Shadow grabbed him by the puff of fur on his chest and brought him close to his face. "Tell me where they are!" he yelled maliciously.

Spitting out a tooth, Silver said, "Go fuck yourself." His appearance didn't match his words. Neither did his tone of voice.

He wasn't getting through to this guy. The only satisfaction he was receiving was from his punches. Those punches were for Rouge. This guy's pain, all the pain that Shadow inflicted, was for Rouge. He remembered her saying that Silver was the one who fucked up her relationship with Mephiles. He tortured Silver for her, even though she wasn't here to see it.

He noticed that the knife was still in Silvers hand, and he grabbed it and held it with one hand, grabbing Silvers left hand with his other hand. He held the knife close to Silvers hand, and growled evilly, "You fucking tell me where Rouge is, or I'll cut off your hand!"

At first Silver didn't believe him. Therefore, he didn't answer him. He spat in his face instead.

"I… won't tell you… where she is!"

So Shadow sliced through his hand, but didn't manage to cut it entirely off. Silver screamed in horror, and begged and pleaded for him to stop, and one of his pleas where, "Please stop! I'll tell you, I'll tell you!" So Shadow stopped, and leaned into Silvers face. But Silver didn't answer. He stared at Shadow with fearful eyes. He never expected to be at this guy's mercy. The plan Mephiles and him created was "Get in, Silver kills that black hedgehog, Mephiles grabs the girls, and they leave."

This wasn't part of the plan.

Shadow decided to give him an edge. Growling into the albinos ear, he hissed sadistically, "Tell me where they are, and I promise I'll let you live."

Shaking underneath the black hedgehog, Silver whimpered, "You promise?"

"…I promise."

**XXXXX **

On the outside, Silver didn't look like a pussy. But he turned into a pussy pretty quickly, when his ass was at stake. He was crying now, fearing for his life. He spat out the information to Shadow. He learned that Mephiles took them back to his house, and once Silver was finished taking care of Shadow (which he never managed to do) he was to meet him there. Silver gave him the address, and any additional information. As soon as he was finished, he asked to be let free from Shadows grasp.

"Is that everything?" Shadow growled, barring his teeth.

"Yes, yes! I've told you everything! You'll find Rouge there! Just let me go!"

"Mephiles better not be hurting her!"

Silver paused before answering. He dared to don a dark, almost sarcastic smile. "I… I can't promise you that…" He snickered a little, thinking about all the things Mephiles and himself planned do once they got their little Rougey back. He received a swift slap to the face and a hard knee in his stomach, causing him to cough up some blood.

"You sick fucking bastard!" Despite his anger, Silvers smile scared him. Right now, Rouge could be enduring some horrible torture at the hands of the man he swore would never touch her again. He knew she would be wondering why he wasn't there. Mephiles would force her to believe that Silver killed him, and that she would never see him again.

How could he let this happen?

Several seconds passed, both hedgehogs bleeding and beaten, trying to suppress the pain they inflicted on each other. Finding an ounce of courage, Silver kept his ugly smile and said to Shadow, his voice trembling, yet malicious, "I bet Rouge told you some silly sob story, huh?"

Shadow quickly recalled the story that Rouge had told him about Mephiles and Silver and how she ended up in that alley. "That's funny," Shadow said, his head turned, looking away from Silver and instead staring off into space, thinking, "I didn't know rape and torture were categorized as 'silly.'"

Silver scoffed. "You really believe the shit she told you?" he said nervously. "Heh, well let me tell you something, hedgehog, she's lying. Everything she said to you was a lie. She made up those things only for attention."

He was lying. Shadow knew he was. He was doing it to aggravate him. And it was working.

Silver continued, noting that Shadow was too busy contemplating what he was saying. "She's a dumb little whore. I don't know why you concerned yourself with her. Hell, I don't even know how you ended up with her. But here's the thing; just forget about her. She's nothing but a slave anyway. Who gives a shit about them?"

Every word Silver spoke was like a slap in the face. Shadow found it difficult to listen to.

"It's funny to think that she actually had the hots for me once," Silver reminisced, laughing at how ridiculous the sentence was. This caught Shadow by surprise. He whipped his head around and looked down at Silver, and asked, "She loved you?"

Coughing up some blood, Silver responded, "She didn't love me. But she certainly liked me. It was kind of cute even."

This was interesting. Odd, but interesting. Shadow had no idea that Rouge had, at one time, had some feelings for Silver.

"… but… that all stopped once we started drugging her."

And that one sentence was the straw that broke Shadows back.

**XXXXX**

He drugged her. He raped her. He beat her. He tortured her until there was nothing left of her. What kind of person would do that to someone else? Especially to someone who had absolutely no means of escape, no one to help them, and no choice whatsoever. That person would have to be sick in the head to try and do things like that to another person. And evidently, a guy like that was right underneath Shadow, snickering and smiling evilly. Enjoying remembering the moments he had hurting Rouge. Enjoying the fact that her pain, made him satisfied. That her feelings could matter less to him. That he got away with treating her like that for so long.

And yet, as sick and monstrous as he was, he expected Shadow to let him live?

This man, lying underneath Shadow, had absolutely no soul, no heart, and no sense at all. He got away with rape, and torture, all because he didn't have a collar around his neck. All because Rouge was a slave, therefore he thought he had the privilege of making her life a living hell.

_Well,_ Shadow thought, _obviously…_ _he thought wrong._

Shadow fingered the knife in his hand, slick with both of their blood, and yet still cold as it glistened in the light. It felt heavier than he remembered. He took the knife and nonchalantly, starting to trace circles around Silvers stomach, lost in thought as he contemplated what he was about to do.

A few moments passed. The room was silent, Silvers words floating around in the air. Said hedgehog got up the nerve to ask Shadow, who was still on top of him, holding him down, "Are you going to let me go?" His voice was nervous and scared. He looked up at Shadow hopefully.

Shadow ignored the question. He asked one of his own. It was a question that was floating around in his mind for some time, even though this wasn't the most appropriate time to ask it. "Rouge never knew that you and her Master were in the pornography business, did she?"

"W-what?"

"You heard me."

"Um, no, no she didn't. Please let me go. I gave you all of the information you wanted!"

Shadow ignored his plea. "Isn't it a little ironic that you specialized in, _bondage_, porn?"

"Why are you asking me these questions?"

"Tell me, are you a top or bottom?" His tone was cold, careless, and emotionless, as he continued to trace circles on Silvers stomach, now tracing them around his bellybutton.

"Please just let me go!"

"Answer my fucking question!" Shadow hissed.

"Um, I'm a top. Please get off of me!" His answers to Shadows questions were quick, but the pleas to be released were filled with whimpering and crying.

"Oh, so you like giving other people pain, do you?" The knife was starting to dig deeper into Silvers skin, still going in circles.

"Let me go, please!" Silver begged desperately.

Instantly stopping the knives movements, Shadow grabbed Silvers neck and leaned in so their noses were touching. Whispering, he said, "You like giving people pain, yet you yourself don't like to feel pain?"

Silver answered, "No." Complete silence.

Then the knife went through Silvers chest.

He gasped, coughing blood, breath hitched. He looked up to Shadow with quizzical, teary eyes.

Shadow smiled, saying, "How about now? You like feeling pain now?"

Silver continued breathing hard, blood spilling from the wound in his chest. Shadow leaned in to whisper into Silvers ear, "Because let me tell you something. The pain your feeling right now, is exactly what Rouge felt, her entire life." He pulled the knife out, and took in the sight of a dying Silver.

He stabbed Silver again, this time through his heart.

Holding the knife there, Shadow hissed, "This… is for every time you raped or beat Rouge."

He pulled the knife out, and stabbed Silver right through his neck. "This… is for every time you hurt your own slave, Blaze."

He pulled it out once more, and then stabbed him in the middle of his chest. "And this… is for trying to kill me." He let go of the knife, and watched Silver die.

Blood spewed from a white neck, covering the floor, creating a pool of red liquid. The life left Silvers eyes, and what was left was a shell of a person that once was. Choking on his blood, he forced his dying body to look up at Shadow. With a cracked voice, he said, "You… promised…"

"…promised that I would let you live." He whispered evilly into Silvers ear,

_"Let's just say I'm not very good at keeping promises."_

Silvers head fell back, life leaving him. Shadow made sure to say this last sentence fast. He wanted Silver to be alive when he heard it.

_**"But I can promise you this, Silver. Your lover, Mephiles, is guaranteed a death… much worse than yours."**_

Silver died.

Shadow would have loved to stay and take it the beautiful sight of someone so evil dead, but there were more important things to do. He was happy to finally check off Silvers name on his death list, though.

He knew Rouge would be happy. At least he had that to look forward to. Rouge would smile when he told her that Silver was dead. The man who ruined her life was finally dead. Murdered. No more.

Gone.

Leaving the body on the floor, he quickly ran to the bathroom to wipe off some blood but most of it was stained on him. All of his cuts had scabbed so he was no longer bleeding, but he was still in extreme pain. But he forced himself to put it aside. He couldn't think about pain right now. All he could think about was Rouge.

Grabbing his chaos emerald, gun and any other weapons he could get, mostly knives, including the knife that killed Silver, he made his way to the door, looking back only once at the dead hedgehog laying on his living room floor. Silver was burning in hell right now, and Shadow couldn't be happier.

He stood in the doorway, looking down at his green chaos emerald. He could see Rouges face in it. "I'm coming Rouge," he told the emerald. "I know I broke my promise. I know you're probably scared right now. God only knows what he's doing to you. But I'm on my way."  
He allowed some tears to fall out of his eyes, mentally kicking himself. Rouge believed that promise. She held by it and believed it. And he let it break. "God," he whispered to the emerald, "I just hope your okay." A beam of light sprung from the emerald, and after an agonizing "Chaos Control," knowing that he wouldn't like where he was going to be teleported to, he vanished.

**XXXXX **

**I updated! Yay! And exploding chapter, if I do say so myself. It introduces my first death scene, which is in no way perfect, but as first times go, I like it.**

R.I.P. Silver. We will always remember you by your pineapple shaped head and your dorky little voice. Lol, I love Silver, but he deserved to die, don't you think?

On an even sadder note, Mephiles has captured Rouge, and Shadows promise has been broken. How could he allow this to happen? Will he get to Rouge in time?

Please, Please Review!

_****_

__


	27. Authors Note

**Ok before you start reading this…**

**This is not a joke / prank for my readers. I hate authors that do that… :( **

**This is not a note stating that I am quitting Glass Heart. I am still writing it so don't panic. **

**This is not a chapter! Chapter 27 is almost done so no worries!**

**This IS a simple author's note with some important information that I want my readers to know.**

**Alright first off I now have a DeviantArt page. It's blank as of now but I will be putting Glass Heart and A Heart And An Arrow (sonamy fic) on it. The link to it is on my FanFiction page.**

**Also, a friend of mine showed me two pieces of FanArt that she found on DA. They are for Glass Heart and they are absolutely amazing! Their links are on my FanFic page.**

**CH 27 will be up as soon as I can put it up. Until then I encourage you to check out my DA page (that looks stupid right now, but I'll make it fancy…) and to check out the pieces of art drawn for GH. And to also review if you have not already done so! I love feedback! **

**:) **


	28. Chapter 28

****

Warning: This chapter contains some material that may be graphic / gruesome for some readers. Read at your own risk.

Chapter 27 Losing Hope

A silvery-white light formed in the center of a large, dark room. The beam of energy grew larger and formed into the shape of a hedgehog. Said hedgehog, now completely materialized, put his Chaos Emerald in his quills for storage, having a strange feeling that he was going to need it later, and not just to teleport out of here. Where _here_ was, however, he wasn't sure. He surveyed his surroundings, taking in the sight of the room he was in. Silver had told him that Mephiles was taking the girls back to his house, and Silver was to meet him there once Shadow was dead. Shadow allowed a small chuckle to pass his lips as he thought about the albino body currently lying in a pool of his own blood on his living room floor.

His laughter was interrupted by a shrill scream.

_Rouge,_ his head cried. _Where is she? _

The room he was currently in was too dark to make out anything useful, but the air around him was freezing. He touched a nearby wall. It was solid cement, dusty and cold. He guessed that he was in a basement, and by the sound of Rouges scream, she must be nearby.

Using the wall as guidance, since there was no light whatsoever, no window or light bulb, he moved forward. Despite the pain he was in, he would've preferred to have been running, because the slow pace he was in was a time waster. Still, he didn't want to bump into anything in the dark, so he hastily made his way through the room. He was hoping to find a door or at least a light or, though he knew he wouldn't be lucky enough, Rouge. After minutes of walking through the huge room, he got the feeling like he was going in a circle. Was the room circular? Or was he losing it? He wasn't sure, but it made him feel dizzy.

There was another scream, and it was Rouges voice again. Bravely, he called out, "ROUGE!" as loud as he could, but he was given silence. He banged his fist on the wall in anger. Mephiles was hurting her. He was doing something to her, and he couldn't stop him. He didn't even know where she was! Her screams were close, but her location was unknown.

The whole time he was killing Silver he felt a stinging pain that ran continuous throughout his body. The pain wasn't caused by a wound that he received or exhaustion he gained from the battle. It was guilt. The guilt he was rewarded with for allowing Rouge to get captured. He felt so much guilt in his life, guilt that at times _almost_ drove him to slice a razor through his arms, but this guilt was different. It burned, and scolded him. It was different than guilt he had felt before. Because it was _deserved._

He was beyond angry with himself. As with Maria, he knew he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. Ever. He felt horrible. Thinking about Rouge made him berate himself even more. As much as it hurt to reminisce, and despite now not being the perfect time to do so, he thought about how frightened she was when he brought her to his house. He thought about every moment after that, the good and the bad. The most recent, was when he ripped her collar off. He liked that thought because it was the happiest he had ever seen her, and he loved seeing her happy. He wondered briefly if he would ever get to see her smile again, or if the smile he grew to love would only be alive in his memories.

No. He already messed up once. He wasn't about to fuck up again.

Moving away from the wall, he made his way to the center of the room, his arms in front of him to prevent him from bumping into something. The room was officially empty. He must have been the only thing in it. Just him and the walls.

"I need a damn light," he said to himself. And then he remembered. He had his Chaos Emerald with him.

Pulling it out, he muttered under his breath, "I must be losing my mind. Either that, or Silver hit my head one too many times against the wall." Using the green glow of his Emerald, he held it in front of him, waving it around slowly, trying to catch everything in the room. He was right before. There was nothing in it. It was huge, and dusty, and cold. Thankfully, the Emerald gave off heat as well as light.

It was as if he was trapped. There was no door to get out of here, and no door to another room. But Rouge sounded so close to him. He was getting impatient, knowing that the more time he spent trying to get of here, the more time he was wasting. He lowered the Emerald down so it showed the floor to him, thinking that there may be a trap door or something, like in a movie.

Fortunately for him, there was.

It was small, and made of wood, contrast to the cement floor, walls, and ceiling. It had a small handle which contained a smaller lock, and when he grabbed it and tried to pry it open, it was locked. "Fuck," he muttered, his anger rising, his impatience thinning. Grabbing the knob tightly, he gave a sharp tug and managed to pry open the small door, which lead to a narrow, wooden staircase. It was something out of a horror movie.

Luckily, there was light on the stairs, so there must have been light down there. He put his Emerald aside, praying that she would be down there, _alive_, and cautiously walked down.

**XXXXX**

She lost count of how many times she was slammed against the wall, but even with the evident pain growing in her spine, she had to pinch herself numerous times to make sure that she was dreaming. Every time her nails dug into her skin, it burned and drew blood.

She wasn't dreaming.

But it felt like a dream. It was just like a dream. Well, nightmare would be the correct term. It was exactly like one of her nightmares. But she wasn't waking up. She got used to waking up to a warm bed, with thick, comforting blankets covering her, and a soft pillow lying underneath her head. Her body would be enveloped in jet black arms, the first thing her eyes saw when they opened would be black fur, and she would feel… safe. But she wasn't waking up.

"My little Rougey, why did you run away from me?" The voice scared her. It was so familiar, and even after the gap of interaction between them, it still felt as cold and ugly as it always had. It was getting closer to her. She backed up against the cold wall behind her, trying to get away from it. She wasn't tied to anything; she didn't have a collar around her neck. He wasn't even touching her. She could run away. Make a run for it. Try and find an exit, and get away from this monster. But she didn't. It was as if she was frozen.

At once all of the memories of when she was younger flew into her mind. This cell, the vile monster standing in front of her, his dark voice that wickedly wrapped around her, filling her with fear. Oh, how she wanted to wake up. Wake up from a nightmare she knew she wasn't having. She needed those black and red arms around her, that dark, shadowy room that she grown so used to. She needed Shadow.

_But Shadow broke his promise_, _Rouge_, her voice of reason told her. It wasn't the first time that sentence crossed her mind, but it _was _the first time she actually heard it. And, unwillingly, believed it too.

The last, 20 minutes or so, went by so quickly, she was unable to comprehend everything. She heard fighting, and screaming, back at Shadows house, but before Blaze and her could do anything about it, _he _appeared in the room, and grabbed both of them, and brought them here. At first she thought he was Shadow. When she realized he wasn't, she screamed, hoping Shadow would come in and save her.

But he never came. And everything she thought she knew came crushing down around her, and before she knew it, she was back here. Why didn't he come to save her? She asked herself this so many times, shutting out everything else that was going on around her, and just kept asking again and again, why didn't he save her? Did he do it on purpose? Was he unable to save her?

Did he not care about her anymore?

She got her answer when Mephiles mentioned that Silver was late, and that he should have "killed that hedgehog by now." Rouge understood what he was talking about. She forced herself to believe that it wasn't true. She told herself, promised herself, even though she was already sick of promises, that he wasn't dead. He wasn't dead.

She didn't believe herself. The horrible memories of the… "games"… Mephiles used to play with her glued themselves into her mind, making it hard to think about anything else. She had pushed those memories aside. Shadow told her to forget about them. And now they were all coming back to her, because he didn't save her. She felt something die inside of her when she heard those words. "…because he didn't save her…" _He didn't save me._

He didn't save her.

"I was worried sick, Rouge. Why would you ever think of running away from me?" His sarcastic lies spewed from his mouth so easily, they made her sick. She was stuck now, a wall behind her, and him in front of her, looking down at her with evil eyes. When she didn't answer his rhetorical questions, she got slapped. So far, her cheek was bleeding profusely. And she was scared out of her mind. And worse of all, Shadow wasn't here to save her. She was starting to think that he wouldn't come at all. She allowed that possibility to stay in her head.

She whimpered, hoping that it would suffice as an answer. She was crying, her eyes wide, a small part of her giving up hope, thinking that she should just give in, don't try to fight, and just let him do whatever he wanted to her. She was going to die anyway. Why add more misery to her suffering? As time went by, it became clear to her that Shadow wasn't coming back. Did Silver really… was Shadow…?

"No," she let the word slip out, almost inaudibly. Mephiles cupped her cheek, and then slapped it harshly again. "You're thinking of that little hedgehog aren't you? The bastard that took my little pet away." He looked away in disgust.

Even though Shadow went back on his promise, deliberately or accidentally, she felt a pang of anger go through her when she heard Mephiles talk about him. "His name is Shadow," she said quietly, regretting saying it. "What the fuck did you say bitch?" Mephiles growled. She was scared, but she would be damned if she let Mephiles get away with calling Shadow such names. "His name… is Shadow."

He grabbed her neck, and said, "I don't fucking care what his name is. He's dead now, so forget about him. Besides, I don't remember giving you permission to speak, slut."

_He's not dead, he can't be_, she thought hopefully. But that hope was dwindling.

With her last ounce of courage, she whispered to him, "Fuck you." Immediately, even before he punched her in the face, she felt all of her rebellious aura and defiant demeanor obliterate. She wasn't prepared for this. She didn't think she would have to stand up to this man, this monster. Shadow was supposed to prevent that. He didn't.

There was so much pain in her cheek that it went completely numb, and she found herself on the floor, holding it. She cried loudly as he kicked her stomach, begging him to stop. She didn't feel strong anymore. All she felt was pain. And hate. The latter of which, she took out on Shadow. He was supposed to stop this. He was supposed to protect her. Why didn't he?

Mephiles picked her up and threw her against the wall. 'Don't you dare talk to me like that!" he howled. "You better remember your fucking place, slave! Or do I have to remind you?" He continued punching her, but she was oblivious to the pain. She still _felt_ the pain, but after years of torment, she had grown used to it. All she thought about was Shadow. She missed him, she wanted him back, she stood up for him, and she knew she would always care for him. **But she hated him too.** Lying underneath all of her love for him, there was hate. Hate for leaving her helpless, hate for allowing this brute to take her back. She remembered saying to him that she had feelings for him, feelings that stood in-between friendship and love. She meant that. But the words themselves didn't mean anything anymore. He obviously didn't share the same feelings, because if he did, he would've saved her. And he didn't. This feeling, this strange feeling of allowing someone you cared for so deeply hurt you like this, was very familiar to Rouge. It was exactly what happened with Mephiles.

She allowed herself to get attached, which she will admit, is one of her many flaws. She agreed to trust Mephiles, like she did with Shadow. And both of them hurt her. She didn't care if Shadow purposely let Mephiles take her back, or if Silver really did kill him and he never had the chance of saving her. He hurt her. Mephiles hurt her. They say that you only get fooled once, but she managed to get fooled twice. All her life she felt pain. All her life people hurt her. And she was sick of it.

She wanted out. She didn't want to live like this anymore. Letting people take control of her, people that came off as nice at first, then ultimately screwed her over. Despite all the abuse Mephiles inflicted on her, she felt more pain from what Shadow had did to her. To have someone who promised, more than once, that she would have his protection. He promised her so many kind things. And he let those promises shatter. As if they meant nothing to him. _They must not have meant that much to him, _Rouge thought. I_ must not have meant that much to him._

_"I promise that I would protect you… to never let him near you again. I can't let you break…"_ That promise was the only thing holding her together. And now it was gone.

And now she was broken. Just like shattered glass, she was broken.

**XXXXX **

Mephiles was smart, and Rouge knew this. He never punched her in the way that would draw too much blood. Just enough blood. Never enough to actually kill her. Not until that one day of course. Rouge was praying that she would be dead soon; she knew death would put a stop to the pain she was feeling. She gave up all hope that Shadow was coming back.

Mephiles stopped his actions. "I'll ask you again, bitch. Are you going to behave, or am I going to have to punish you again?" He had a toothy grin, and sinister eyes. He licked a tear that fell from Rouges face. Shaking under his iron grasp, she whispered, "I'll behave." She hoped death would come sooner if she went along with him. He smiled, and kissed her harshly on the lips. He ran his fingers down her body, digging his nails in all the way. He stopped when he reached her private area. "That fucking hedgehog gave you some clothes? I bet he treated you real nice, huh? Bet he was so sweet to you…" his sarcasm struck her like a knife, but she didn't feel the sting of the blade. She forced herself to forget about Shadow. It would only hurt more if she thought about him.

The black and grey hedgehog was about to unzip her jeans when two sparks formed on his index and middle fingers. The sparks turned into full-fledged flames, and instantly started to burn his fingertips. He pulled his hand back and shook it about, trying to get rid of the flames, but they stayed on. They burned holes into his white gloves, stinging his fingers. As soon as they came, they disappeared, leaving the tips of his digits singed and burning.

"Get… away from her." At first Rouge thought the voice was Shadows, but it was too feminine. Both her and Mephiles whipped their heads to the side to see Blaze, standing at the other end of the familiar cell they were in, trying to stand up straight, but failing to keep her balance. Rouge had recalled Mephiles knocking Blaze out as soon as they arrived here, because she started to struggle with him. She too wasn't tied to anything, but the impact of fainting left her weak. She tried to conjure up another spark but it quickly died out. So she tried yelling instead.

"I said, leave her alone!" she screamed bravely, braver than Rouge had ever seen her. She didn't move from her spot, but stared at Mephiles with glowing eyes. Mephiles let go of Rouge, and walked towards the feeble cat. She didn't back away, but there was a hint of apprehension in her features. "Leave her alone," she repeated quietly.

Mephiles looked like he was about to strike her, but decided against it. Instead, he smiled briefly before asking with fake concern, "Oh, what's the matter Blaze? Upset that your Master isn't back yet?"

"Fuck him," she snapped back. "And fuck you too."

He grabbed her hair, and she yelped. "What did you say to me?" he growled.

Though her scalp was burning, she remained tough. "Do whatever you want with me, I don't care. But please don't hurt Rouge. She's already been hurt enough. Don't hurt her anymore than you already did." Rouge knew what Blaze was talking about. It was Mephiles' fault that Shadow was, supposedly, dead. But Rouge didn't care about that. Shadow hurt her. She didn't care about him right now.

Blaze had the same idea as Rouge had: she knew that she was probably going to die at the hands of either Mephiles or her own Master. Knowing this, there was no fear in her voice when she confessed to the dark hedgehog, "I told him everything. I told Shadow all about your plan. He knew, _knows_, everything about you and Silver."

To her surprise, Mephiles wasn't as shocked as she thought he would be. "What does that matter now? He's dead. It makes no difference."

"He knew you two were coming. He knew you were going to take Rouge back. And he was going to stop you."

Mephiles didn't seem to care at all about Blaze's confessions. "I could care less about him."

"He promised her that he wouldn't let you take her back."

Mephiles laughed. "Well, obviously he didn't do a very good job at keeping that promise now did he?"

"You don't know that. He could be on his way right now, coming to save her." She leaned into his face as close as she could, squinting her eyes, successfully holding her insubordinate stare. She lowered her voice, and whispered to him, "He could be coming back to save both of us, and to kill you."

The demonic hedgehog threw her against the wall, and she fell on her side painfully. He looked tough on the outside, but both Blaze and Rouge could easily see the uneasiness underneath him. The possibility of Shadow killing Silver and coming back to find him was unlikely (at least he thought it was) but it was possible. He contemplated this, while Blaze found her weakening balance and managed to stand up. She created a small globe of flames in her palm, and before it diminished, she threw it at Mephiles. The flames wrapped around him, sending heat through every inch of him that they landed on. But the flares were weak, and quickly died out, failing to actually burn him. Blaze tried once more, but her flame was completely gone, and she was too weak to keep trying. She fought hard to keep her balance.

Mephiles laughed at her. The laugh was dark and echoed throughout the room they were in. Rouge stared on indifferently, as if she was watching all of this play out, instead of actually being in it. _Shadow isn't coming back_ was her new mantra, and she believed every word. She hated him. Oh, how she hated him. He promised, he promised her! She thought he cared about her. If he really cared about her, beyond a shadow of a doubt, he would've saved her. He would be here now, saving her and killing this monster. But he wasn't here.

Maybe he is dead? Rouge found that unlikely. He was strong, and had weapons, and knew how to fight. From past experiences, she knew Silver to be scrawny, and almost wimpy, with not much muscle or strength. He had psychokinetic powers, she knew, but she rarely saw him use them. Blaze had told her once that his telekinesis drained too easily and quickly, leaving him extremely fatigued, and ultimately helpless in a battle, so he relied on his fighting skills rather than his psychic abilities. Rouge wondered if Silver had fought Shadow using his powers, or if he went old school. Either way, Shadow could have easily won the fight against him. Rouge was sure of it. She didn't know what would be worse: knowing Shadow won the fight, but was now refusing to save her. Or knowing that Shadow is dead, but he tried to save her. Well, one of them was true, that was for sure.

Mephiles' was still laughing, enjoying how pathetic Blazes attempt at burning him was. "You stupid bitch," he told her. "You really think your little flames could do anything? I told Silver when he first bought you to get rid of those things on you, but he didn't listen to me." Blaze remembered that. When Silver first bought her, he didn't know that she had the ability to produce flames. When he found out, he contemplated whether or not to have her flames extracted from her (a very painful but successful procedure to have done to someone, which would render her unable to produce flames anymore.) In the end, he decided not to do this, and let her keep her flames, simply because he didn't want to waste money on the procedure. If Blaze wasn't as fatigued as she was, she would've killed Mephiles herself, but not even a single flicker of fire sprouted from her.

The dark hedgehog continued to yell obscenities and insults to her, while she leaned against the cement wall, her breathing hitched as she tried not to faint. She looked from Mephiles to Rouge, Mephiles to Rouge, and her eyes ultimately stopped at Rouges face. There was pain in her expression. And anger, and sadness. She looked defeated.

After assuring himself that Blaze was too weak to try and stop him, Mephiles walked back to Rouge and forcefully pushed her against the wall. She went limp, and submissive, and didn't cry out when her spine hit the cement. He looked deep into her teary eyes. "I hope you don't believe any of the shit Blaze was saying. That black hedgehog is dead. I bet he's lying in a pool of his own blood right now, burning in hell as we speak." Rouges face went pale when he said that last line, the image of such a thing currently and forever stuck in her mind. "I even told Silver to take a picture of him dead. I'll frame the picture if you want," he told her sadistically. "That way, when you look at it, it'll be a reminder of who you belong to, and who you _don't_ belong to. And it will also remind you of what happens to the fuckers who try and **take you away from me!"  
**  
Rouge didn't speak, and no tears left her wet eyes. She just stared at Mephiles, hanging on to every word, not indicating however if she believed them.

She just stared. Confused. And hurt.

Mephiles smiled. "He's dead Rougey," he repeated. "DEAD. Come on, say it with me: he's dead."

Her mouth opened, but no words came out.

"Say it Rouge. Tell me he's dead."

Silence.

He leaned in so their noses were touching. "SAY IT!" he screamed, making her jump.

_"He's dead_," she whispered. Those two words felt so believable. They felt so true.

"He's dead," Mephiles said. He whispered into her ear, almost seductively, "D-E-A-D. Dead."

**XXXXX **

_"ROUGE!"__****_

**XXXXX**

The voice that echoed throughout the room, screaming Rouges name, undoubtedly, belonged to Shadow. All three turned their heads to the sound of the voice, eyes growing wide with mixed emotions. Mephiles was taken aback by the sound, quickly realizing that it wasn't Silvers. He didn't need to be told twice who the voice belonged to.

Blaze jumped when the name hit her ears, and she couldn't help let a small smile form on her lips. She grew hopeful, happy even, that Shadow was, at least, still alive. She didn't get her hopes up, though. She knew Shadow was here to save Rouge, and to kill Mephiles. She didn't think he would save _her_ too. Still, she was relieved to know he wasn't dead.

Rouge looked emotionless. She heard her name being called by the man that saved her life, but she looked as if she didn't care. Shadow was alive. But she didn't look happy. Shadow was here to save her. But she didn't look hopeful. Shadow was here to kill this bastard. But it was as if it didn't matter. It was as if _he_ didn't matter to her. He left her. He promised. He failed. And he hurt her.

Those things were all that mattered to her.

The black and grey hedgehog's eyes shifted back and forth, many things running through his head. How did Shadow find out where he had taken Rouge? Why didn't Silver kill him? And where exactly was Shadow? His voice was pretty far away, but he was probably getting closer. Hastily, he tried to think of something to do. His little Rougey was not going to be taken away from him again.

"Rouge!" the voice screamed again. Rouge just stared at the ground. Blaze looked over to her and noticed that she looked emotionless. Something was wrong, but Blaze wasn't sure what. Rouge just stood there, defeated, giving up, not even relieved that Shadow was alive.

Blaze knew Shadow wasn't going to find the cell the three of them were in. Mephiles basement was a labyrinth, and he kept it dark 24/7, with the exception of a few light bulbs placed here and there. The more time Shadow wasted trying to find them, the more time Mephiles had to think of a backup plan. So she took matters in her own hands, for Rouges sake.

"Shadow!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping he could hear her. "Shadow! We're in here!"

Rouge looked over to Blaze, understanding what Blaze was trying to do. But she didn't scream with her. She remained silent.

Mephiles looked over to Blaze too, sneering at what the purple feline was doing. Her screams made him nervous as he desperately tried to think of something to do. He would have to kill this hedgehog himself. Silver failed to hold up his side of the deal.

He was going to kill Silver for this!

_Why isn't Rouge screaming with me?_ Blaze wondered. She started to bang on things, producing any type of loud sound she could, hoping to grab Shadows attention and give him something to follow. "Shadow, Rouge is in here!" she screamed at the darkness. She found some metal chains on the floor and started to bang them on a nearby metal post that Mephiles used to tie Rouge and her to. It produced a loud sound that rang through everyone's ears, and she hoped it was loud enough for Shadow to hear. She continued screaming his name, but Rouge remained quiet.

**XXXXX **

"Rouge!"

Shadow screamed so much that his throat was going raw, and his voice was cracking. But he didn't care. He yelled at the top of his lungs, desperate for an answer. He was praying to chaos that Rouge wasn't dead. After going down the wooden flight of stairs, he ended up in a room identical to the one he Chaos Controlled to. The only difference was that there was a light near the stairs, but the farther he went into the room, the darker it got. He screamed and screamed but Rouge didn't answer. He felt his heart racing. He was trying hard not to panic, but his mind kept telling him that she might be dead. He refused to believe it.

"Rouge, where are you?" He kept walking until he was enveloped in darkness again, the stairs far behind him. The room was large, and despite how cold it was, he was sweating with anxiety. His stomach started to do cartwheels, giving him the feeling of wanting to throw up. He kept his breathing slow in an attempt to prevent hyperventilation. He never felt so… scared. When he was younger, he always forced out whatever fear he felt. He pushed it away and didn't think about it. But now, it was impossible to forget about this fear. His mind kept imagining images of what Mephiles could be doing to her.

_Stop thinking about it, please just stop_, he told himself. _It isn't going to help her any._

If he was feeling this sick over what he did, then what must Rouge be feeling? _She must hate me right now… I don't blame her._

"Rouge!" he screamed again. "Please chaos, let her be okay…" he told himself. "Rouge!"

She wasn't answering him. Why wasn't she answering him?

He tried another name, a name he cursed under his breath. "Mephiles! Where the fuck are you?" Similar to the fear he was feeling, it was impossible to subdue his anger. He wanted to kill Mephiles. He wanted to rip the fucker's eyes out and shove a knife down his throat. Oh, how he wanted him dead. He would kill him, just for Rouge. He would make sure she was there to see it. He would kill him.

"Mephiles, you better not be hurting her!" he felt like an idiot, screaming at the darkness. But no one was answering him!

He was walking blindly through the room, touching the walls in case there was a door somewhere, or anything. He didn't hear any screaming, but the screaming he heard before sounded like it came from here. He must have been close. But why wasn't she answering him? And why was it so quiet? He continued screaming Rouges and Mephiles' names, desperately. Out of anger he banged on the cement walls, screaming and cursing. He hated the silence. It was piercing his ears, growing louder until it was absolutely deafening. He screamed out for them until his voice couldn't allow any other words out. He leaned against one of the cold walls, looking down at the pitch dark flooring that was so black he had to guess that he was standing on something and had no proof that there was a floor underneath him. Should he go back up the stairs? No, Rouge sounded so close before. He knew she had to be around here. But there were no doors out of this room. This whole basement was a maze.

"Rouge," he whispered miserably. "Where are you?"

_…"Shadow!"_

**XXXXX**

**Chapter 27! This chapter is also on my DeviantArt account of course :)**

In this chapter, we learn the consequences of what a broken promise can do to someone so fragile. Poor Rouge, it seems like she has given up all hope that Shadow will save her… course I'd give up hope too if I was promised something so sincere then have it break so easily… :(

BUT, Shadow is desperately trying to save her! Will he find her in time? Or will he be too late? And even if he does find her, will she forgive him for breaking his promise? To be continued… 


	29. Chapter 29

**WARNING: This chapter contains some gruesome and graphic material that some readers may find suggestive. Please read at your own risk.**

XXXXX

Chapter 28 Without Him

He almost had a heart-attack when he heard his name echo through the walls dismally. His head shot up, and his body shoved itself off of the wall, and he looked around the room as if trying to locate the voice. It was feminine, but it didn't quite sound like Rouge. Its echo disappeared quickly, and he was left wondering where the small voice came from.

"…Shadow!" There it was again. Looking around again he failed to trace its location. It bounced off the walls, sounding like the person who was saying it was on an intercom. He screamed Rouge's name again, his throat now sore, but no luck. He didn't hear anything for a while, with the exception of his hoarse screams. Furiously, he banged on the walls, trying hopelessly to break them. His body scolded him, already being tired from the fight he had with Silver, his arms were in no mood to exert energy.

"Shadow, we're in here!" The voice sounded louder now, and desperate. He quickly replied back, but it didn't answer him. It was as if someone was cutting the person off and stopping them from yelling. He ran through the room he was in, back and forth, back and forth, in a frenzy, thinking of what he should do. No doors, no windows, no lights, nothing apart from the stairs he used to get in here, which were now far behind him. He even checked the floors to make sure there weren't any trap doors. It was just walls. Echoing walls.

Then a thought hit him. If there were no doors to get out of this room, how did Mephiles get out of here? He walked farther into the room, into complete darkness. When he heard another "Shadow!" come from the walls, he jumped because it was so loud. Louder than before. He answered it back, and continued to walk forward, surrounded by blackness. He bumped into a wall, which must have been the end of this side of the room. He touched it. No door. The scream came again, and this time it sounded like the person screaming was standing right next to him. He finally recognized the voice: it was Blaze.

For a moment he was filled with relief. If she's alive, Rouge might be too. But the joy faded rather quickly. He knew the voice was coming from the other side of the wall, but there was no door to go through the wall. He felt the entire wall, as much of it as he could, even jumping up to reach the ceiling, which was shockingly low, considering the size of a hedgehog. He wanted to cry. The wall was bare. Rouge was on the other side of it, he knew she was. She was this close to him, but he couldn't reach her.

The thought he had earlier came to him again, and this time he pondered it. How did Mephiles get to the room he knew Rouge was in, if there were no doors leading to it? There must be some way to get in, this much he knew was true. But how?  
_  
Well, he obviously didn't use some sort of door, or window, Shadow thought._

And I doubt he did a magic trick to make a door appear.

He couldn't have walked through the wall, regardless of whether or not he has the ability to, but because he had to be able to get Rouge and Blaze in the room too.

He banged his fists on the wall. There had to be a way in. But he didn't know it.

**XXXXX**

_Shadow is alive!,_ her mind told her gleefully. She wasn't sure if she should be happy or angry. She felt both emotions at the same time, and it felt weird. Happiness seemed to be outweighing her anger and sadness. She knew she was happy he was alive. She also knew she would be happy to see him kill Mephiles and save her. But he broke his promise. After everything he said to her, the assurances he made, the help he gave, everything he did and said to her, seemed to not matter now. It was all for nothing. It was all for her.

Rouge wanted to tell Blaze to stop screaming, not because she didn't want Shadow to hear her, but because Mephiles was getting agitated, and Rouge was scared he might hurt her. But instead of saying this, she remained quiet, trying to sort out her thoughts. Standing frozen, watching everything at a distance, letting it happen without doing anything to stop it. The simple act of being with Mephiles again, back to where she ran away from, made her numb and submissive, unable to move. Her mind had already decided to give up. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and let whatever was going to happen tonight, happen. Rape, torture, pain, everything that she knew her and Blaze was going to suffer through today, seemed almost routine to her. Normal, even. She gave up hoping for a miracle to come out of nowhere. And even if a miracle did happen to appear, Mephiles would destroy it.

Said hedgehog was slowly tripping into a panic, his eyes shifting back and forth, his blood boiling. As amateur as it may sound, he wasn't prepared to fight this hedgehog. Fighting Shadow was Silvers job. Running to a far edge of the room he flicked on a light that was so well hidden, you would have to know it was there in order to find it. The light was blinding, and it filled the entire room the three of them were in. Rouge and Blaze covered their eyes, Blaze continuing to shout. Rouge looked over to her, now able to see her clearly with the extremely bright light. She looked so weak, and her throat must have been raw, for she paused after each time she screamed the black and red hedgehog's name. She glanced over to Mephiles, who was now rummaging through the drawers of a desk that resided at the far edge of the room. He threw things out and shoved things about, frantically looking for something. Blaze was still screaming, not as loudly now, and Mephiles yelled back at her maliciously, "Stop fucking screaming!"

She told him, "Fuck you! I hope he comes and finds you! I hope he kills you." It was obvious that Blaze had had enough of Mephiles. She would not mourn his death in the slightest. In fact, she would enjoy and even encourage it. She was sick of him as much as Rouge was, but the white bat didn't make that as evident as Blaze did. Instead, she stood there, letting Blaze do all of the work.

Finding some strength, Blaze ran to the other side of the room, leaning on the wall she almost ran into. She screamed into the wall, as loud as she could. "Shadow, please, answer me!" There wasn't an answer but she didn't give up. She whispered to herself miserably, "Please, please, Chaos, let him hear me."

Mephiles' eyes grew wide when he realized she moved to the other end of the room, and was now screaming into _this _wall. He gave up trying to find what he was looking for, and instead ran to Blaze and violently pulled her away from the wall. Standing behind her, he put an arm around her torso to stop her from moving, and he moved his other hand to her mouth to keep her quiet. She writhed and struggled to be free, but he kept a firm grip on her, pulling her arms behind her back and managing to trap them there, rendering her helpless. He moved the hand that was on her mouth and cupped her cheek, trying to hold her head in place. He moved the arm around her torso to just below her neck, almost around her collarbone. Blaze tried with all her strength to get free. She was crying now because her entire body burned with fatigue, and she knew that she was ultimately too weak to get away from him. He tightened his grip on her, and pulled the arm that was cupping her cheek upward, trying to twist her neck. He couldn't get a good enough grip since she was moving too much, but he tried over and over to snap her neck. Blaze opened her mouth and hissed, reaching one of his fingers and biting it, drawing blood. He didn't let go of her, so she bit down again, keeping the finger in her mouth and digging her teeth into it. Finally, he pulled away, letting her go and holding his bleeding hand. Her fangs had sunk into it so roughly that the skin had been torn, and he could see the bone of his finger. He swore at her, wrapping his blood-soaked glove around his abused digit.

Blaze took the opportunity to punch him in his jaw. Despite how weak she was, she managed to knock him off of his feet slightly. His back hit the wall, and he snarled at her. There was anger in her eyes. With no pun intended, she looked as if she was on fire. She unsheathed her claws and started scratching him, flinging her hands every which way, not caring where they landed, as long as they hit him and made him bleed. He held his hands up in defense, trying to stop her but she moved too fast. She growled and hissed, cursing him out and screaming until she could no longer produce words. She temporarily lost her voice, and her throat burned. When she swallowed, it felt like burning nails and razors sitting on her esophagus. But she didn't care.

Rouge, meanwhile, just stood there, amazed that Blaze still had some strength left in her to put up such a fight.

**XXXXX**

Shadow felt like he was losing control. Over everything. He found himself saying little prayers in his head, begging God and Chaos that Rouge wasn't already dead. He banged his fists on the wall repeatedly until he saw blood. He ran around the room numerous times, not finding anything new. He also didn't hear anything. Blaze's voice wasn't there to reassure him, and he felt alone. And scared. Did Mephiles manage to kill Blaze? Shadow didn't let the possibility faze him. He definitely cared about Blaze, without a doubt, but he was secretly hoping that Mephiles would be too busy killing her while he saved Rouge. It was horrible to think, of course. But who could not think like that in a time like this?

_There has to be a way_, he told himself. _Think, Goddammit, think. You know they are in the room opposite this wall. There is no door, no window, and no magic trick. So, there is no VISUAL way to get to that room._

He was right. The way to get in must be hidden. It must be secret.  
**  
**But that still got him nowhere.

**XXXXX**

Blaze's claws scraped the black and grey hedgehogs left eye, and he howled in pain. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed her hands tightly, getting cut by her razor-sharp claws. He shoved her away from the wall she had him pinned to, and brought her to a wall farther away from where they previously were. He pushed her against the wall and held her hands in place. She was trapped, and he was too strong to push off. Without any flair, Mephiles bent her right hand back and gripped it tightly. Holding her down with his other arm, he continued bending her hand backwards until the bone snapped. The purple cat screamed in pain, trying to get away from her torturer. Mephiles tried to break her other hand but decided against it and instead banged her head violently against the wall. She thrashed and screamed, still conscious, but feeling like passing out. He banged her head against the cement again. There was a small "crack!" sound, and then silence. Blaze instantly fell into Mephiles arms, who immediately pushed her off of him and let her fall to the floor. ****

He looked down at her body for only a second, and then turned away, smoothing out his quills and wiping some blood off of his face. He said coolly, "I hope Silver don't get pissed when I tell him what I did…"

That one sentence brought Rouge out of her daze. Her eyes wandered over to Blaze, lying on the dusty floor in a heap, looking very dead. Dead? No, no Blaze couldn't be dead. She could _look_ like she's dead, yes, but she couldn't actually be dead, right?

Rouge didn't want to know the answer. Blaze was her friend. She had helped Rouge through so much, and she was really the only person in her life that didn't hate her, excluding Shadow. Forgetting about said hedgehog, Rouge ran to Blazes side and rolled her onto her back so she could see her face. A purple, bloody, emotionless face. Rouge put her ear to Blaze's chest. She wasn't sure if it was a heartbeat she heard or just the sound of the blood pounding in her ears. There was blood dripping from behind her head where Mephiles banged it against the wall, small red drops painting the grey floor of the cell. Rouge listened to Blaze's chest again, grabbing her wrist and holding it tightly. There was a small pulse. The tiny beat brought a smile to Rouges face, who brought Blaze's unconscious body up from the floor, and gave it a make-shift hug, holding it against her own. She was still alive. Maybe not for long, but for now she was.

Mephiles watched Rouge's every move, his stomach twisting in knots when he saw her "hugging" the younger girl. So many things were happening at once, he was losing control, and he absolutely hated not being in control. Shadow was only a few steps away, and if he ever found out how to get into this cell, Mephiles wasn't sure what course of action he would take. Blaze was still alive, and Rouge was as well, and where was Silver in all of this? Did their plan really backfire so horribly?

Rouge's mind wandered away from Shadow for the moment. All she was concerned about now was Blaze and her well-being. She felt horrible for not helping her earlier, the actuality of how wrong she was for sitting back and doing nothing made her feel terrible, how she abandoned Blaze, and how she refused to scream with her and help fight Mephiles. She didn't know why she was so frozen before but she was out of it now, and vowed to stay out of it. The thought of Blaze leaving her snapped her back into reality. Into her sick, demented, reality, that there was no escape from. The possibility of losing her friend was the only thing that managed to kick her out of her daze. Not Shadow, not Mephiles, not her own fears, not her own sadness, but Blazes life.

The white bat felt as if she was losing control of everything. But, it wasn't a bad thing. All of the disappointment she pointed towards Shadow was gone, and nothing filled its place. The fear she gained from seeing Mephiles again was gone as well, and now filed with determination and anger.

"You almost killed her…" she whispered, mostly to herself, but loud enough for Mephiles to hear.

He smirked and walked behind her, as if he was completely innocent. Grabbing her hair he forced her head back so she was looking up at him. In a sinister tone he growled, "Be lucky that it was _almost_ instead of _completely."_ He spat in her face, his bloody saliva landing on her cheek. He let go of her head, smiling, thinking that she would cry and maybe even beg him for his mercy. But she didn't.

Inside, Rouge knew she would never be able to forgive herself for what she almost let happen to Blaze. How she ignored her and stood there dumbfounded like a fool. That was unforgivable. But… she could still redeem herself. She could gain redemption by taking out the one man responsible for all of this. Or at least die trying.

"I hate you," she said to him.

"What?"

She looked up at him, aqua eyes connecting with his green. He could see a hint of resolve in her eyes. Determination, rage. These were emotions that he never saw from her before. She looked as if she wanted to kill him. Which was probably true.

"I hate you," she repeated. And she meant it.

He thought nothing of her attitude though. He replied nonchalantly, "You're just acting tough because you think that little hedgehog, what's his name, Shadow, is coming to save you."

"No, that's not the reason why," she told him, standing up slowly. She was telling the truth, as much as it hurt her. Shadow broke his promise to her. And she was sick of promises. She couldn't worry about what happened to Shadow, if Silver killed him or if he was still out there screaming somewhere. She couldn't let his broken promise get to her, because she knew he wouldn't want her to worry. Shadow wouldn't want her to just, give up like this. He would want her to fight.

And that was enough proof to make her see that she didn't need him. Not anymore.

She had thrown her whole life onto his shoulders, and depended on him for everything. That wasn't right of her. She knew it was selfish, but it took her this long to realize it. All the protection she begged for, the love, the friendship, the thankfulness, she didn't need it. He didn't need to give it to her. She managed to go so long thinking that she couldn't live her life without Shadow, that she needed him for everything. She almost had herself convinced that Mephiles wasn't worth fighting against simply because Shadow let her down. But just because he disappointed her, doesn't mean her whole life had to end right then and there.

She finally realized it. A distorted epiphany that flooded her mind, making her see her whole life through someone else's eyes. She didn't need Shadow to save her life. Only she could be able to save herself. Shadow was simply a band-aid that was put over her mistakes and injuries, but she would have to be the one to catch herself when she fell, and to be the one to pick herself back up again. She couldn't spend the rest of her life hoping that someone will protect her and save her from everything. She was responsible for protecting herself. And Shadows broken promise proved that she didn't need him. That she didn't need anyone. And that she didn't need to give up everything just because someone has hurt her. Her entire life she had given up, stopped fighting, and just waited to die. She had given her life up. And it was time to get it back.

Mephiles scoffed. He had never seen his slave act like this, even before he started abusing her. He grabbed her neck and pulled her close to him. "Do I have to remind you of who you're talking to?" he hissed.

Blaze was unable to help her now. Shadow was M.I.A. Rouge would have to fight for herself now, as much as she feared it. Giving up, as tempting and easy as it may be, was not an option. She thought back to when Mephiles first brought her back here, which was literally, only minutes ago. How she tried to stand up to him, how she gave up hoping that Shadow would come back, and how she is now trying to stand up to the dark hedgehog once again. A vicious loop, but Rouge was determined to stop the loop here, even if that meant losing her life.

_And now she was broken. Just like shattered glass, she was broken._

Did she really believe she was so fragile? Yes, yes she did. Her conscience used to proclaim that she was easily broken. But now her conscience was telling her:

_If you want to shatter like glass, you better be prepared to pick the pieces up afterwards._

**XXXXX**

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_ His fists made contact with the God-forsaken wall so many times that the pain was nominal now. There were blood stains everywhere. The black hedgehog stopped his movements for a moment to rest, as the blood dripped from his arms. As a final resort, he had opted to break the wall down. Fortunately, he made some progress. There were dents in the wall from where he banged it. He also tried shooting the wall with his gun, wasting every single bullet he had.

But the important thing was that he was making progress.

He squeezed his arms, trying to stop the blood flow. His arms were completely red, even his red highlights were red-er. He could feel that his gloves were soaked, and everything was slick. Taking out his Chaos Emerald, he used its light to see how much damage he had done to his arms and hands. Bruises, cuts, broken claws, possibly broken fingers and covered in red liquid… His inhibitor rings had stains of blood on them too. And now the Chaos Emerald was slippery as he held it.

Even with all of this pain, what he was feeling inside could not begin to compare.

Throughout his attack on the wall, the image of Mephiles was all that he thought about. He didn't like thinking about the bastard, but it was a hundred times better than thinking about Rouge. So he tried to focus solely on Mephiles, and how similar the two of them looked. If Rouge had told him that he looked like Mephiles the minute she woke up after he saved her from the alley so many weeks ago, he would have better understood why she didn't like him at first. In all honesty, he was contemplating whether or not Mephiles was his clone. It sounded crazy, but they were so alike. Right down to the small features, which included the cuffs around his wrists that attached to his gloves, and their inhibitor rings, the only difference being that Mephiles' were grey whilst Shadows were gold. Despite this, Shadow knew that Mephiles was able to use them, since he summoned that purple energy which he used to Chaos Control (or at least what Shadow thought was Chaos Control) into his house to grab Rouge. Or perhaps the rings were only for decoration, which was why they were grey and looked as if they were a simple fake copy? Shadow wasn't sure.

Forgetting about his thoughts, he threw his abused fist into the wall again, ignoring the pain it brought.

**XXXXX**

"I fucking hate you…" she said again, tears in her eyes, but not tears of sadness, tears of anger.

For once, Mephiles had a somewhat concerned look on his face, as he pushed Rouge against the wall and held her there. Immediately, she tried to get away.

"Rouge, you don't mean that," Mephiles said. "You don't hate me, you used to love me, don't you remember?" After all the work Shadow and her had done to erase those memories, Mephiles brought all of them back at once.

"Not anymore," Rouge told him, trying to release her arms from Mephiles' grasp.

He laughed evilly. "Yes you do Rouge," he said. "You still love me. I can see it in your eyes. And believe me when I say this," he moved in closer to her so he could whisper sadistically in her ear, "I still love you too. Even after all of the shit you caused."

Rouge looked up at him confused, not sure what he meant by the last statement.

He answered, "It was you who messed everything up Rouge. Don't you remember? _You_ fucked up our relationship, not me. Everything was going good, until I started being with Silver. And you couldn't handle that. You got jealous and wanted me all for yourself. You, a silly little slave-girl, wanted to make my decisions for me. Your jealousy got the better of you, and you went crazy. Don't you remember Rougey?"

What the black hedgehog was saying was the truth. Not everything entirely, but most of it stemmed from what really happened. Rouge did get jealous that Silver was becoming her former Masters friend, and soon-to-be lover. Perhaps if Rouge hadn't of gotten so possessive over Mephiles, he wouldn't have started loving Silver instead of her? It was so long ago, and she was so young and confused...

She dug her nails into his arms, but he didn't budge or let go of her. He stared deeply into her blue eyes. She said, "Maybe if you didn't start hanging with Silver, I wouldn't have gotten jealous." She said this accusingly, but she already knew her argument would be futile. He would always win the fight, even if he was wrong.

He shoved her against the wall painfully, out of his anger. "I didn't_ love_ Silver, Rouge. I _worked_ with him. We were friends, not lovers. I still loved _you._ But you got so attached to me, that I realized that with you, I wouldn't be able to hang around with anyone else, because you would get jealous."

"That's not true!"

"Yes it is Rouge! You know it's true! You just couldn't handle me being with someone else, so you got mad. You started acting like my girlfriend, instead of my slave. That was always the problem with you; you wouldn't accept the fact that you had a collar around your neck."

"You treated me like your girlfriend!" Rouge exclaimed. "You never treated me like a slave. Until Silver came along. Then you changed!" She wanted to get away from him. She couldn't stand the past being brought up like this. She bit his cheek, but he didn't move. She stepped on his foot, but he didn't move. She continued scraping her nails into him, but he didn't move.

"No, no that's not true Rouge," Mephiles lied. He knew that Rouge was telling the truth. He didn't treat her like a slave, which was why she went crazy when he _did_ start treating her like one. In retrospect, it was his fault. Everything was his fault, and not Rouge's. And when he realized back then, so many years ago, that he was to blame for Rouge's attitude, he started drugging her, hoping that his transgression and abuse of her friendship and love to him would be forgotten. But she didn't forget.

As if saying it meant anything anymore, Mephiles screamed into his former slave's face, "You still love me Rouge! I know you do! I don't know what that other black hedgehog did to you, but the minute he comes in this cell, I can assure you, he is as good as dead!"

Still trying to fight him off, Rouge screamed back, "Fuck you!"

He said, "You look so ridiculous, Rouge."

"Fuck You!"

"I still love you Rouge. We can still be together."

"Fuck You!"

BANG!

They turned their heads to see the wall, which had screams coming from the other side of it, being broken down slowly. There were dents which were caused by something on the other side, and small holes. Someone was breaking the wall down.

"ROUGE!" came a terrible scream, the person saying it no doubt in great agony and pain. It was Shadow.

**XXXXX**

When Rouge heard her name, she was filled up with something that she had never felt before. And if she had felt it before, she didn't know the name of it, and still doesn't know it. But it didn't matter. She loved the feeling. When Shadow screamed her name before, she ignored it, and didn't pursue it. Now, she was more than ready to reply.

Again, Mephiles was taken aback by the scream. Taking the opportunity, Rouge shoved him off of her and managed to get away. She ran to the wall and putting her hands on it, screamed at the top of her lungs,

**XXXXX**

"SHADOW!" came a terrible scream, the person saying it no doubt in great agony and pain. It was Rouge.

_Oh, thank you Chaos she is alive._

Shadow answered her back, as he continued punching the wall, a new sense of purpose giving him the strength to break the wall completely down. Her voice sounded so sweet to him. He didn't want to ever have to live without hearing her. He wasn't sure if she was still angry with him, but at least they were on speaking terms.

He shouted her name in rapid succession, as if it was the most important thing in the world. She screamed his name too, and they repeated this as the wall that was keeping them apart continued breaking.

**XXXXX**

Mephiles took note of the dents in the wall, and knew that soon enough, there would be no wall anymore. He also took note of the happiness he saw in Rouge's eyes right before she shoved him off of her and ran to Shadow's wall. There was love in her eyes. Real love. Not love that a Master and slave would feel for each other. Not the love that Mephiles and her felt for each other either.

She really loved Shadow. She could care less about Mephiles. It was Shadow that she wanted.

Running back to the desk he was at earlier, he desperately tried to find something in it. He muttered things under his breath, but Rouge wasn't paying attention to what he was saying. She didn't take her hands off of the wall, and she didn't stop screaming. The wall was getting more dents and holes in it. It wouldn't be long now.

Finally, Mephiles found the thing he was looking for earlier. A small glass vile filed with purple liquid. Taking a needle that you would use to give someone a shot, he sucked up some of the liquid and tapped the glass above the needle point. He ran back to Rouge and grabbed her violently, putting a hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming. He said menacingly under his breath, "That fucking hedgehog thinks he can take my Rouge away from me again?" Rouge screamed under his hand, but only muffled shrieks came out. Without warning, Mephiles stuck the needle into Rouge's arm, and injected the purple liquid into her bloodstream. Almost immediately, she fell onto the floor unconscious.

**XXXXX **

Shadow stopped banging his fists on the wall, only because Rouge had stopped screaming. He felt his heart stop and his breathing hitch. She stopped screaming. Why did she stop screaming?

Instead of banging this time, he just put his hands on the broken wall, waiting for Rouge to answer. She never did. He knew that Mephiles had stopped her from screaming.

He was finished with this. He was through with this fucking wall. His hands hurt like nothing he felt before. He couldn't see straight. Everything around him was black. The only thing that shone through the darkness was something gold on his wrists. Oh yeah, his inhibitor rings. His inhibitor rings. His inhibitor rings!

Why, in Chaos' fucking name, did he not think of it before?

"I must be a fucking idiot…" he said to himself.

Taking off his rings, he lifted his arms up and screamed at the top of his lungs,

"_CHAOS-_

**XXXXX**

The loud bangs on the wall had stopped immediately after Mephiles injected Rouge with the liquid. The black and grey hedgehog smiled. Picking the white bat up, he brought her body to a dark corner of the cell they were in. In the darkness, he tied her body up and gagged her, if, in the worst case scenario, she ever woke up, which he doubted. Revealing another trap door on the floor, he threw her unconscious body into it, and closed and locked the door. He smiled again. No one was going to take his Rouge away from him now.

He barely had enough time to blink before the wall, that was almost ready to collapse, burst into a billion pieces, a globe of red energy filling the cell. The wall had collapsed. There were pieces of cement on the floor.

Looking up, Mephiles saw what took the place of the part of the wall. A black, bloody, hedgehog, who was screaming,

_-CONTROL!"_

**XXXXX **

**After a long wait, Chapter 28 is finally here! I'm sorry for the small hiatus, but for compensation you get an explosive, action packed chapter. I really wanted this chapter to be something special, so that's why I didn't rush it.**

The cliffhanger is awful, I know, and you all probably hate me right now… ^^()

So, in review, Rouge finally forgives Shadow for breaking his promise to her. She believes in herself now and knows that some things she has to do for herself. We also learn more about Mephiles and Rouge's unsavory past. Shadow finally manages to break the wall down, but Mephiles gave Rouge something that caused her to pass out. Will she ever wake up, and will Shadow get to her in time? And is Blaze going to be okay?

**So many things have gone wrong… How will everything turn out? **


	30. Chapter 30

**  
****Warning: This chapter contains EXPLICIT fighting, blood, gore, torture, and other similar themes and suggestive material that some readers may find uncomfortable. Please read at your own risk.**

Chapter 29 How Did We Get Here?

The person standing in the place of the part of the wall faded in and out of Mephiles' eyesight. Red energy floated in the air, almost suffocating him as it coated his lungs. He could feel his body wanting to black out as he inhaled the sickening powerful energy, which seemed to be spouting from the hedgehog that, albeit rather forcefully, just entered the room. Said hedgehog collapsed onto the cement, breathing heavily as the energy enveloping him started to dissipate, and after merely minutes the room was left empty again, with only the two hedgehogs lying on the ground, struggling to get up. When Shadow looked up to see Rouge's former Master knocked off of his feet, he allowed a smile to reach his face.

Shadow could taste cement on his tongue, bits of it in his mouth, along with dust and smoke from the explosion. In all honesty, he thought that a Chaos Control would have done much more damage than this. Even after he took his rings off to allow for a bigger, uncontrolled blast, the destruction he caused was nothing compared to the pain he felt by causing it and the exhaustion that followed it. But he could see from where he was laying that Mephiles was hurt, which made up for the torment he just put his body through. Looking around he saw that the weapons he brought with him were obliterated due to the explosion. They lied a few feet away from him, some of them broken in two and others shattered into pieces, and he cursed under his breath, reprimanding himself for being so careless as to completely allow those weapons to be ruined. However, not every defense was totally damaged. The only weapon that was still in one piece was, miraculously, the only weapon that technically wasn't his:

Silver's knife.

The white hedgehog's blood was stained on it from where Shadow had stabbed him. The knife wasn't fairly large, more like a dagger, and it landed some feet away from Shadow. It was in arm's reach of Mephiles. But luckily, the darker hedgehog overlooked the knife, and instead glued his eyes to blood-red ones, glaring at Shadow vengefully.

Up until this point, Shadow's only concern was simply breaking the wall that separated Rouge and him. Now that that task was done, only two things remained in his dust–filled, cloudy mind: Rouge's safety, and Mephiles. Both concerns had their own importance, and both needed to be dealt with, but with exhaustion, pain, worry, and vengeance surrounding Shadow's heart and mind, it was hard to decide which to deal with first. But before he could make up his mind, he felt his legs already moving toward the hedgehog in front of him.

Mephiles barely had enough time to stand up before the black and red hedgehog ran toward him and threw a punch that found its way to snakelike eyes, sending him back a few feet. Shadow wasted no time; he swung his fists towards Mephiles, expertly landing punches that drew blood and created bruises, each swing getting harder and faster than the last. His eyes were glowing as he fought with the older hedgehog, not caring how much his punches may be abusing his own fists. He continued to beat Mephiles, dodging almost every throw the Master fought back with. Grabbing hold of Mephiles' arms he managed to push him into one of the cement walls of the cell-like basement they were in, and holding him in place he banged his head against the wall, taking a black and grey arm and twisting it backwards. Mephiles screamed in pain, pathetically fighting back, but he was no match for Shadow. Or so Shadow thought.

Puddles of blood painted the floor, black, red, white and grey bits of fur sitting on top of the liquid, as the two hedgehogs beat each other. Shadow could feel the Chaos Energy building up inside of him. With his inhibitor rings no longer on his person, he knew that a Chaos Blast or even a Spear would be enough to at least bring this hedgehog to his knees. He knew the risk he ran forming an attack without those rings, but Mephiles' defeat would make up for all the energy he was about to lose. Bringing Mephiles onto the floor he mounted him and pummeled his face with the side of his fist. The older hedgehogs face was covered in blood, and his already pitiful throws were getting weaker and weaker. Shadow grinned and continued his movements, beating his face until teeth were falling out and cheek bones were starting to break. Shadow could feel his hands bleeding underneath his gloves, hot and heavy, and suffering as he punched. For a while, he thought to himself, _why am I worrying about him? Shouldn't I be looking for Rouge?_

Rouge's safety was the most important thing that mattered to him. But before he could change his mind, he felt his fist land in Mephiles' eye, temporarily blinding the poor hedgehog below him, and without even telling his mind what to do next, Shadow found himself landing even more punches as if the man underneath him was nothing more than a punching bag. The thoughts that were once in his head had been shoved out of the way, as his only concern right now was simply beating the living hell out of this hedgehog.__

Mephiles was practically limp underneath Shadows body, his hands covering his face in an attempt to stop Shadow from hurting him. Shadow paused his punches for a second, only a second, in order to perform a Chaos Spear. Lifting his bleeding arm up to his face, he turned it sideways and conjured up a bright blue orb of Chaos Energy in his palm, the orb changing colors from blue to red to green. Although the orb of energy wasn't needed to perform a Spear, Shadow figured that if his Spear failed, the raw Energy in his palm would be a sufficient backup plan, as it encased his arm in gold energy. Through gritted teeth he screamed, "Chaos Spea-"

A black and grey arm grabbed his own arm before he could perform the Spear. The energy he created in and on his arm vanished, as did the orb of energy, and what was left were bleeding cuts about two inches long all across his arm, the skin ripping apart as the energy he conjured was sent back into him painfully due to not being able to release it properly. Taken aback by the interference he gave Mephiles the chance to grab hold of him and tackle him down to the ground, underneath him. He seized the opportunity to punch Shadow square in the jaw, holding his arms down with one hand as he used the other to land punches. Taking a black and red quill Mephiles turned Shadows face sideways and banged it against the cement floor, drawing blood from the side of Shadows face. Mephiles' fingers wrapped around the quill tightly as he violently banged the side of Shadows head. Shadow felt helpless; his arms were too weak from the failed Chaos Spear to try and get them free from Mephiles' grasp, and the raw Chaos Energy created cuts that bled profusely from his arm. The darker hedgehog's legs kept Shadows own legs down and prevented him from kicking up or even bucking his hips. His eyesight was getting blurry as the world spun around him and made him sick. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Mephiles with a wide, evil, determined grin on his face, his mouth dripping with blood. The darker hedgehog smelled of blood and grime, making Shadow even sicker than he already was, wondering how Mephiles could've gotten so dirty so quickly, because when he arrived at his house with Silver, he looked clean. Mephiles' gloved hand let go of Shadows quill for a moment, and migrated to Shadows mouth. Placing his palm on Shadows mouth he used his thumb and forefinger to block Shadows nose, making it impossible for Shadow to breathe in. The black and red hedgehog's lungs worked overtime, trying hard to gasp for air but not being able to. The hand on his mouth squeezed his jaw and Shadow felt like passing out.

Because the hand was bloody and slick, Mephiles' middle finger accidentally slipped into Shadows mouth and he almost gagged as he felt it hit the back of his throat. As Mephiles tried to pull it out, Shadow grabbed it and held it between his teeth, biting it and twisting it around in his mouth. Already he could feel and taste the bone of the digit in his mouth, and he knew that his biting could not have caused that. Taking the advantage he bit down as hard as he could, and Mephiles screamed in agony as he desperately tried to get it out of the younger hedgehog's mouth. Letting go of Shadows arms he grabbed his finger and tugged on it, but Shadow sunk his fangs in only deeper. The black and red hedgehog could feel the bone breaking, hearing the small crack it made as it snapped. He gagged as a pool of blood formed in his throat but he didn't dare let go of the finger; as long as he was biting it, Mephiles wasn't hurting him. Finally, after minutes of torture, Mephiles managed to get his digit out of Shadows grasp, and his hand flung back as Shadow let go, only reason being was that he desperately needed air. Shadow scrambled to his knees as he gasped heavily, vomiting the blood that was sitting in his throat. Mephiles stood up holding his hand, obviously in great agony. Both hedgehogs put their heads down as they tried to spit out the blood in their mouths. They were only a few feet apart, and in between them lay Mephiles' dismembered finger, the skin ripped and the bone showing, bloody and covered in spit.

**XXXXX**

Limping, Mephiles walked past Shadow, who was currently taking large sips of air, trying to sort out which one of his bones were broken and which were not. Mephiles limped until he reached the broken wall, a large hole taken out of the cement, large chunks of what used to be the wall now on the floor. Taking the hand with now only four fingers on it, he wrapped it using one of his bloody gloves, and as he did so, he smiled. He turned around to look at Shadow, still on his knees, just now managing to get his lungs working again. Panting, the darker hedgehog said sadistically, "Fate… can be so ironic…" Black ears perked up at Mephiles' words, as a panting Shadow struggled to get to his feet, keeping his knees bent in case he fell over. The two hedgehogs stared each other down, glaring and breathing heavily.

Mephiles studied Shadow top to bottom, finally managing to get a good look at him. Their similarities and appearances were so striking that they could be considered twins. Shadow resembled Mephiles in almost every way, which was almost revolting to Mephiles as he glared at the black and red one. First thing that came to Mephiles' mind was that this hedgehog wasn't supposed to be alive. Silver was supposed to kill him. But there he was, standing in front of him, bloody and beaten, ready to attack and most likely murder him. At once Blaze's words came to him: _He knew you two were coming… he knew you were going to take Rouge back, and he was going to stop you… he promised her that he wouldn't let you take her back. _And his own response to her words: _Well, obviously he didn't do a very good job at keeping that promise now did he?_

True, Shadow didn't do a very good job at keeping the promise. But it was obvious that he was prepared to make up for his mistake, in the form of taking Rouge back, by any means necessary. It left Mephiles to wonder how an insignificant slave-girl could actually predict what was about to, and what did, happen.

Shadow kept his distance from Mephiles, but he was prepared to go into fight mode at any time if need be. The first thing that registered in his mind was that…

He shouldn't be here. How did he manage to let everything slip from his hands? He wasn't supposed to be here. Rouge wasn't supposed to be here either.

_How did I get here?,_ he thought to himself. How did I end up here? It wasn't supposed to happen like this. None of this was supposed to happen.

He couldn't bring himself to believe that he was actually staring at the guy who, unknowingly, fucked up his life in so many ways. The man who threw Rouge away like garbage, tortured her, ruined her life. The man who turned Shadows own life upside down due to one simple mistake that he made. The man who caused all of the frustration and pain Rouge and him had been through during the past weeks, and who was responsible for basically everything that had happened. A man so terrible and frightening, so hated and cruel, was standing right in front of him, obviously aware that his and Silver's plan to eliminate Shadow had failed, and that the black and red hedgehog was here to kill him. Shadow never thought, for one instant during his entire time with Rouge, that he would have to face the guy that he had grown to hate like this. His plan to turn him in seemed almost non-existent now. He would never be able to put that once seemingly perfect plan into action. The only plan that would work at this point would be to kill him.

Taking only a moment to observe the area, he looked around the cell he had just burst into to see exactly where he was. Although he just heard her voice, her sweet voice, scream through the wall he had broken not long ago, to his traumatizing disappointment he didn't see Rouge anywhere. He looked around the entire room, spinning and whipping his head side to side, checking every crevice and corner, but she was nowhere. The room was dark except for a small but bright light bulb at the other end, near a wooden desk, not far from where Shadow was standing. On the wall closest to the light bulb Shadow could see many different kinds of bondage devices hanging on the wall, things such as whips, canes, gags, ropes, chains, cattle prods, clamps, and collars. They hung maliciously, many of them stained with bodily fluids, evidence that they had been used. Shadow felt like he had stepped into some sick type of porno, the room having a psychotic yet practical flair about it, almost ideal for the type of Master that Shadow guessed Mephiles was. It stunk of sex, blood, shit, and cum, filling Shadows nostrils as he secretly wished to leave the basement-like cell immediately. It was scary, uninviting, and gave you the feeling that once you stepped into it, you would probably be raped, beaten, and/or killed before you left.

But the worst part of the basement cell was that Rouge was no longer in it. But he heard her screaming his name only minutes ago! There were no doors that lead out of the room, or windows. It was just cement, cement everywhere, hard, almost impenetrable walls that made you feel stuck and locked in. He heard her voice merely seconds ago, screaming through the wall he destroyed. But she was nowhere to be seen. He turned around to Mephiles, who was still panting quietly to himself, gripping his four-fingered hand tightly, trying to stop the blood flow and the pain. A tiny grin appeared on his face when he noticed that Shadow was frantically looking around the room for something, and quizzically staring at Mephiles in wonder, as if asking him a question using only his facial features. It was apparent that Shadow couldn't find what he came in here for, and Mephiles intended to keep it that way.

Staring at the monster in front of him Shadow found it difficult to contain his anger. _He did something to Rouge, he hid her somewhere, _his mind screamed to him. He couldn't stand to think of what Mephiles might have done to her, and the ugly grin on his face intensified the feeling that he did something absolutely horrible to her. The thought made Shadow flare up in rage, directing his mindset toward only one goal: killing this fucker, no matter what he may or may have not done. And oh, how he wanted to end this fucker's life. He wanted to make him suffer, make him feel every inch of pain that he inflicted on Rouge, and make that pain one hundred times worse. He could feel the Chaos Energy building up inside of him again, not as strong now, but he knew it would grow until he was forced to let it out.

_**"But I can promise you this, Silver. Your lover, Mephiles, is guaranteed a death… much worse than yours."**_

That was more of a promise to Rouge than to Silver. And even though every other promise he made to her had broken at his hands, this promise he would keep for himself. Mustering up whatever strength he had left in his body, he dashed toward the black and grey hedgehog, his skates barely touching the ground. But before he had the chance to attack, Mephiles threw his fist into Shadow's stomach, sending him flying to the other end of the room, smashing into a wall and landing face-first onto the hard cement floor. Lifting his head he felt blood dripping from his forehead, his whole body feeling numb after it made violent impact with the wall. His eyes caught sight of Mephiles only for an instant, and in a movement that happened faster than Shadow could blink, Mephiles dashed forward and kicked the side of Shadow's face. A hand grabbed his quills and before he had time to regain his strength the hand dragged him to the wall and slammed him against it, holding him in place. Mephiles could see the flicker of fear enter Shadow's eyes, replaced immediately with anger, and blood. And although his face was covered in the sticky liquid, Shadow didn't take his eyes off of Mephiles for a second.

Snarling, Mephiles said, "So, you're the little prick whom my Rougey came crying to?" Upset at how horrible Mephiles made Rouge's name sound, Shadow forced his arms out of Mephiles' grasp and shoved him off of his body, throwing him a few feet away. The darker hedgehog was surprised at Shadow's strength, which matched his own almost entirely. Shadow remained near the wall, leaning against it, whilst Mephiles stood some feet away from him, a small gap in between the hedgehogs.

_This may be a fair fight,_ both of them thought in unison. They were both capable of destroying the other with no question. And both of them were planning to do so.

"Rouge (pant) didn't come crying to me… (pant)" Shadow replied coldly. "You left her to die in a goddamn alley you careless motherfucker. Where is she?"

The darker hedgehog's eyes grew wide. "In an alley?" he asked. "Is that how you ended up with her? You found her in a fucking alley?" Mephiles' voice was scratchy and hoarse, filled with anger and disbelief.

"Yes," Shadow said. "What, you didn't know?" And then he said darkly, "Oh, now I remember, Rouge told me you left her to die in a bathtub, then she escaped, ran away, and ended up lying half dead in an alley. Because of what _you_ did," he added the last part out of his sheer hatred for the hedgehog in front of him, and, simply put, it was the truth.

"…I don't know what you're talking about, hedgehog," Mephiles said shakily, trying to keep the upper hand over Shadow. He never planned to have to talk to this hedgehog, since it was Silver's job to get rid of him. He was unprepared for this.

"You can cut the bullshit, Mephiles, I know everything. Rouge told me all about you and your little cocksucker Silver. She told me everything you two did to her. Now where the fuck is she?"

Mephiles sighed deeply. Trying to remain on top of this hedgehog was going to be impossible considering he already knew everything. But… there was still one thing he didn't know, which amazingly, was the only thing that mattered right now. And Mephiles swore that this hedgehog would never know. "So, you did your homework then, did you?" he said sarcastically. "Well, I'm glad both of us are up to date now."

"Where is she?" Shadow screamed violently. The last thing on Mobius he wanted was to converse with this demon in front of him, but when he considered the fact that they were practically an even match, he knew that fighting would only stall his intentions. But for Rouge, he would do whatever it took. Rouge… thinking about her made so many emotions swell up inside of him. It almost brought tears to his eyes as he clandestinely lived through the horror and pain that she must have felt because of the one little error that he made. And the blood was on his hands, the blame most definitely his and his alone. It was as if every moment they shared together and every kind, comforting word he said to her meant nothing now. He wouldn't be surprised if she hated him for the rest of her life, all because of what he unintentionally did to her, despite guaranteeing her that something so awful would never happen.

And yet, even though her hatred toward him posed as a threat to him, he swore to himself that he wouldn't let it get in the way of saving her. He wouldn't let his feelings of love toward her overcome her wellbeing and rescue, no matter how changed she may be because of what he did. Even if she never spoke to him again, he would still love her and take care of her like he had been, no matter what.

But before any of this, there was still someone who needed to be taken care of. The devil responsible for all of it, whom he was determined and ready to defeat, solely for her. He would make up for his broken promise, the promise that he allowed everything to ride on, everything to depend on, and once the promise was gone, everything seemed to shatter, especially himself.

_Well, Shadow, since you allowed everything to shatter like glass, you better be prepared to pick the pieces up afterwards._

"Where the fuck is she, I know you have her here! Don't try to pretend or lie, I know she's here, Silver told me everything!" Shadow was beyond desperate, but Mephiles wasn't answering him.

"Silver? HE told you that she would be here? Where is he, what happened to him?" Mephiles asked, which surprised Shadow. In all honesty, Shadow didn't think that he would have to explain to Mephiles what he did (although he wouldn't have minded giving the dreadful news to him); he thought that he would simply kill Mephiles on the spot without a conversation.

Shadow ignored Mephiles' question, and decided that he would let the hedgehog suffer in wonder for as long as he could. Besides, it was obvious that Silver must either be dead or incredibly hurt, because if he was neither of these things, Shadow wouldn't be here. And Mephiles was well aware of that. "Where is Rouge?" Shadow asked again, his voice cracking in misery. "I heard her screaming in here, I know she's here! Tell me where she is, what did you do to her!"

Mephiles smiled, the blood on his dirty teeth making Shadow gag in disgust. "Where is she, where is she!" he mocked. "Why do you want to know where that little slut is, Shadow? Just a couple minutes ago you were set on ripping my fucking insides out. Why did you stop fighting? Is it because you're scared, or is it another reason?" He laughed manically, the laugh reminding Shadow of the way Eggman laughed, but Mephiles' was more evil instead of the Doctors whom was more crazy and goofy even. But behind his dark laughter, he had a point. Shadow _did _stop fighting him for the moment, and the reason couldn't be simply because they were equally strong and skilled. Shadow wasn't afraid of Mephiles either, so… why wasn't he fighting him? Why didn't he continue charging into him in an effort to hurt him and inevitably murder him? Sure, fighting would take time, time that Shadow didn't have, but talking and asking him where Rouge was would only take longer. Shadow could easily search the area he was in and look for Rouge once he had killed Mephiles, but… something was holding him back.

"Why don't you just kill me now?" Mephiles asked in a way that made Shadow wonder if he was being serious or just playing with him. "You were ready to before, by the way you carelessly burst in here uninvited. Why are you wasting time asking me where my little bitch is, instead of looking for her yourself?" He waved his arms in front of him, offering himself to Shadow, smiling as he waited for the black and red hedgehog's reply. He was playing with Shadow's mind, which had suffered enough torment in the past hours that it was an easy target to attack. "Isn't my death the only reason you're here? Come on, come and fight me!" The darker hedgehog howled loudly into the darkness, his laughter flowing into Shadow's beaten body and slowly flowing out of it. It was apparent that he was bent on getting a reason out of him.

"Am I no longer a priority?" Mephiles asked. The way he said this made it obvious that he was stalling for some reason. He knew that his death was not the only reason Shadow was here.

"You're still a priority you sick fuck," Shadow answered. "But before I kill you I want to know where Rouge is."

Mephiles shook his head. "No you don't. That's not the reason, I know it isn't. You don't want to know where Rouge is…

_You want to know if she's still alive."_

**XXXXX**__

And Mephiles was right. He knew he was right.

"Yes." Shadow thought he mouthed the word. It took a while for him to realize that he actually said it out loud. The grin on Mephiles' face when he got the answer he wanted from Shadow told Shadow that he said the word out loud. To Shadow, it was the only reason why he hadn't killed Mephiles already. Forget about strength and skill, those weren't reasons. It wasn't about whether he could kill Mephiles or not, because he definitely had the power to kill him, easily too, if he conjured up another Chaos Spear or Blast, but… once again… Rouge's life was more important to him, and he hadn't realized that her life was holding him back until right now. Even if he was to kill Mephiles, then go look for her, the thought of finding her body cold and lifeless scared him so bad he couldn't think straight. Before he knew where she was, he needed to know, for his own benefit, that she was still alive. And that was the only reason why Mephiles was still standing in front of him.

Because Mephiles was the only person who could tell him whether Rouge was still alive or not.

"You want to know if you'll get my slave back with blood still flowing through her. Is that it?" Mephiles asked coldly, irritated with the black and red hedgehog's determination and intentions.

"Where is she?" Shadow screamed, both hedgehogs knowing that this question was only covering up what Shadow really wanted to know. His eyes were glowing, fear as well as desperation spinning around in red pools. "Tell me what you did to her you psychotic fucker!"

"Such determination for such a clueless little 'hog," Mephiles said nonchalantly. "All for what? A silly slave-girl? You're getting so worked up over a _slave_?"

Shadow could feel his stomach acid burning, enraged Chaos Energy swirling inside of him, growing larger and more powerful. Every word that Mephiles said shot spasms of pain through Shadow, making his own desire to kill him much harder to hold off. But he knew that if he killed Mephiles without getting the answer he wanted, everything would be in vain.

Still, killing him would be much easier than prying an answer out of him.

From what Rouge and Blaze had told him, and from what he had inferred simply by being near the hedgehog, Shadow knew Mephiles was manipulative, crafty, and completely irrational, and most of all, loved seeing others in pain. He was a psychotic madman, and Shadow didn't need to look twice into his piercing snake eyes to realize that. When Rouge told him about the nightmares she had, and about the cruel, sadistic things that Mephiles had done to her, Shadow found most of the sick acts hard to believe. But now, looking directly into the eyes of the insane clown that inflicted that pain onto Rouge over the years, he believed what she said, and he realized that Mephiles was capable of doing many demonic, immoral things, simply for his own pleasure. And he was more than capable of doing these things to Shadow.

Without a doubt Shadow knew that the only way he would ever be able to escape with Rouge would be to kill the hedgehog in front of him. Mephiles would never allow him to leave with Rouge, whom he still had no clue whether she was alive or not. And thinking of the possibility of her already dead… he would rather kill _himself_ than find her body stiff and silent.

_She must be alive, she has to be_, he told himself. _Mephiles wouldn't be stalling like this if she were dead. There would be no point…_ Shadow didn't think Mephiles had the gall to actually kill Rouge just so his actions and determination to find her would be in vain. There were other reasons that Mephiles was keeping secret from him, thus wasting time and effort. Shadow wanted to be done with this sadistic fucker. If it were up to him, Mephiles would be beyond dead by now, and Rouge and him would be home. But it wasn't up to him, and it wasn't that simple. He couldn't bring himself to kill Mephiles without knowing if Rouge was alive or not. But this fucker wasn't answering him!

Conjuring up a Chaos Spear Shadow forced the energy to remain in and on his already abused and torn arm. A simple flick of the wrist would send the Spear flying out of his arm, but it would also hurt Mephiles, and Shadow found himself refusing to fatally hurt Mephiles before knowing where Rouge was. He decided to give this monster one last chance to tell him, before killing him, and after that, he would force himself to murder him, regardless of whether or not he received the answer he wanted.

"IS SHE ALIVE?" he screamed, bringing his Energy-encased arm up to his face, glaring at Mephiles. Shadow's determination tore through Mephiles. How could Rouge be so important to this hedgehog that he would risk his own life for her? Mephiles found it so silly.

"So…" he started, ignoring Shadow's desperation once again, "let me see if I have this all figured out then. Your plan was to come in here, kill me, and take Rouge back? That's your big heroic plan?" His dark sarcasm made Shadow feel like a fool, because, indeed, that was his plan.

But then again, that used to be Mephiles' plan too, wasn't it?

"The only reason I'm here is to take Rouge back," Shadow said through gritted teeth. "Your death is nothing more than an auxiliary. Tell me where she is! I'm not asking again!"

Shadow's words seemed to surprise Mephiles, for he said, "Oh, so you never wanted to kill me? So Rouge IS your only concern! How fucking pathetic."

Unable to contain his anger any longer, Shadow flicked his wrist and sent the Spear flying to Mephiles, who barely dodged the Energy bolt which was heading directly for his face. Shadow threw two more Spears, both missing their target, before having to stop and regain his energy. Without his rings, too much of his Chaos Energy was flowing out of him in the form of his Spears. He immediately regretted taking them off, but he could care less about his own well-being for now. Screaming, he said, "I've always wanted you dead, you fucking sadist. Ever since Rouge told me your name I've wanted you to pay. Ever since she told me the horrible things you and Silver did to her I wanted you to die. I wanted you to suffer just like you made her suffer, I wanted you to feel every bit of pain you made her feel."

At the mention of Silver's name once again Mephiles became distracted. "What the hell did you do to Silver? How did you manage to escape him?"

Smiling evilly, Shadow didn't answer him. "There was nothing more I wanted than to see you die. How you had the audacity to do such horrible things to Rouge, it made me sick. She told me terrible stories from her past. She told me so many things, every disgusting thing you did to her. Half of which was illegal, by the fucking way. But you probably already knew that, huh fucker? But you did it to her anyway."

Sighing Mephiles responded, "So, you know everything. Why the fuck do you think I care? If you are so bent on wanting me dead, why don't you just kill me now?"

"You know why I can't kill you. I want to know where Rouge is."

Mephiles laughed loudly. "You're so fucking pitiful! You really wouldn't kill me unless I tell you what you want?" The last sentence sent a horrible shiver down Shadow's spine. It was the truth, which made it so much worse. It was wrong and stupid, but half of him wanted to know about Rouge before anything. And the other half, well, that half was still pretty shattered.

"You want to know if your prize will still be alive after you kill me, hm?" Mephiles asked demonically.

"Fuck you!" Shadow screamed, wanting to take Mephiles' comment and burn it, not because of what he called Rouge, but because it was the truth.

"Come and fight me you pathetic piece of shit!" Mephiles taunted. "Fight me and be a big fucking hero!" He tilted his head to the side, snickering sarcastically, "Oh, but you can't, can you? What's the point in killing me if you don't get your little Rougey back alive?"

"Stop calling her that!" Shadow yelled. Chaos Energy was growing inside of him again; it was so strong now that his anger was making it hard to control. _Kill this bastard; just get it over with, _his voice of reason told him.

_But, what about Rouge?,_ asked his conscience.

He wasn't sure which one he should obey anymore.

**XXXXX **

"Listen here, um, Shadow, is it?" Mephiles began. "What's the point in trying to save her? She's nothing but a dumb little slave! You can get those anywhere! Why would you go to such great lengths to save her?

"Look, I don't know how you ended up with her – you said something about an alley, I don't remember – and I don't know what the hell you did with her, but here's the thing: she's my slave. I own her, she is MY property. I'll admit, it was very nice of you to take care of her in my absence, but now that I have her back, I would like to think that this whole mess with you and her just never happened, hm? How about we forget about the whole thing?"

Shadow wasn't sure what Mephiles was playing at, but he was definitely playing with him. Shadow couldn't believe that he was actually saying this, and actually thinking that he would believe him and agree with him. Did he really think Shadow was that stupid?

"You expect me to forget everything you did to her?" he asked. "All the drugs, the rape, the torture, the hell you put her through? You're fucking insane if you think I would let you get away with that shit. Don't forget, once you tell me where Rouge is I'm going to fucking kill you. You can't take back what you did to her, and you can't pretend that it never happened and just push it to the side. Now tell me where she is, is she alive?"

Mephiles said, "You keep saying that you are going to kill me, yet every time I press you to do so, you tell me you're not going to kill me. Which one is it?"

"I told you, I'm not going to fight you until you tell me where Rouge is."

"That's a pretty stupid reason."

"Well, you're not fighting me right now, Mephiles. What's your goddamn reason?"

"… I like watching you squirm. I want to see how long you're going to go, 'hog. As far as I'm concerned, you are here to kill me and to take Rouge back. You won't fight me unless I tell you where she is and if she's alive. You want to kill me for what I've done to Rouge, but once again, I have to remind you: **She's. My. Fucking. Slave! **You have no right to want to kill me besides the fact that you don't like what I did to Rouge. But she's my property, and even though you took care of her and watched her for me, that doesn't give you ownership of her. She's _mine!"_

But… she wasn't his. Mephiles no longer had ownership of her…

Shadow did.

At once all of the memories floated into Shadow's mind, reminding him that technically, Rouge was his. The call to the Slavehouse, putting his own collar on her, hoping that if he owned her and she belonged to him, trust would build between them. It all felt like it happened so long ago, but it didn't. And even though Rouge and him decided to just be normal people, and to not play as "Master and slave," Shadow still legally owned Rouge as a slave.

"And I don't believe the whereabouts and well-being of my property is any of your business," Mephiles stated matter-of-factly.

"She doesn't belong to you anymore," Shadow spat out, the words running together in a speedy jumble as if they were on fire and he wanted them out as fast as possible. "She's not yours anymore, she's mine," he said proudly, happy that he was able to explain to Mephiles what he did to Rouge. And when Shadow told him that Mephiles no longer owned her, his green eyes grew wide in surprise as he contemplated what he had just heard. By the look on his face, Shadow knew that Mephiles could not believe what he was just told.

"If you don't believe me, that's fine," Shadow told him. "There's enough paperwork and evidence to prove it."

Mephiles stared at him in shock and disbelief. His mouth was agape as he stood there dumbfounded, squinting his eyes as he tried to make sense of what Shadow told him. "You… you made her _your_ slave?" His words were stiff and forced, as if he was trying to keep them inside of him, but failing to do it. He shook his head and closed his eyes, inhaling sharply. "You're lying! You're fucking lying, you're lying!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice hoarse and strained. "You're lying, you're lying!" he repeated accusingly, his eyes filled with rage and equal disappointment. "That… that can't be true! You fucking bastard, that can't be true!" In his anger he threw his fist against the wall, slamming it with so much force Shadow swore he heard a bone crack. But no pain registered on Mephiles face. Only sadness… and anger.

"I'm telling the truth," Shadow told him. "But what do you care? You could care less about her."

"You're lying…" Mephiles whispered under his breath, his throat tight and his teeth barred. Turning back to Shadow he screamed violently, "I don't fucking believe you!" He put his head down, his eyes squeezed tightly shut once more, refusing to believe any of what the black and red hedgehog was saying.

"You still don't believe me?" Shadow asked. "Well, let me ask you this, Mephiles: When you took Rouge, did she have your collar around her neck?"

Mephiles didn't answer him.

Shadow asked, "When you brought her here, did she call you Master?"

Mephiles didn't answer him.

"Was she glad that you brought her back here after she escaped here? Was she happy when she saw you? Did she tell you that she wanted to be back with you and not me?"

Mephiles didn't answer any of the questions. Because both hedgehogs already knew the answers to each question:

No.

There was no collar around Rouge's neck.

She didn't call him Master.

She wasn't glad when he brought her back to the cell she escaped from.

She wasn't happy when she saw him.

And she didn't tell him that she wanted to be with him and not Shadow.

Mephiles only pretended that she did all those things. He thought that if he pretended, it might turn real.

He would buy her another collar.

She would call him Master.

She would be glad that he brought her back, even though she escaped from this place.

She would be happy when she saw him.

She would tell him that she wanted to be with him and not Shadow.

None of that happened the way Mephiles wanted it to happen. The hedgehog standing in front of him prevented all of that from happening. What Shadow did to Rouge could never be erased.

Shadow didn't want Rouge to have a collar.

He didn't want her to call him Master.

She was glad that he brought her to his place, after she escaped from Mephiles.

She was happy when she saw him.

She would tell him that she wanted to be with him, and not Mephiles.

And there was nothing that Mephiles could do about any of it. Shadow had taken Rouge into his own arms, and cared for her, and loved her. Rouge accepted Shadow into her life, and loved him. He had taken Mephiles' own property, his one and only slave, away from him. No one could mistake the way her face lit up when she heard Shadow's voice on the other side of the wall. When they were arguing, Rouge denied every lie Mephiles threw at her. Not for one instant did she ever want to be with Mephiles, even when he told her that their relationship could still work. She told him no. She didn't want him.

She wanted Shadow. And Shadow wanted her. Mephiles no longer fit into her life anymore. There was no space for him. He didn't belong anymore.

Exhaling deeply, he glared at Shadow with eyes that literally stated: _I'm going to kill you for what you did. _ And before he charged into the black and red hedgehog, the one thought that ran through his mind was:

_How did I get here?_

**XXXXX  
**  
**As you know, I'm sorry for such the long wait, but I really wanted to make this chapter special. Originally Ch 29 and 30 were one whole chapter, but after hours of debate and constant decisions of where the page breaks would be (I couldn't tell you how many X's I've typed and deleted in the course of writing those two chaps) my final decision was to cut them in half. I really don't think you guys would've wanted to read a 34 page chapter; at least, that was how long it was before my editing.**

29 was definitely the one chapter that had the most editing that I've ever done in any story or chapter of GH. I think there were about five different drafts… if I remember correctly.

Ch 30 still needs to be edited but it shouldn't be too long before I get it up. I'll tell you guys right now you're gonna explode when you read it. You might even explode twice… ;)

So, getting back to the story, Shadow has finally confronted Mephiles, but Rouge's life is stopping him from killing that bastard. Will he find Rouge, and give Mephiles a taste of his own medicine? Or will the reality of Rouge no longer being Mephiles' slave be too much for Mephiles to handle?

And… how did they get here? How did our hero manage to get to where he is, and how will he escape from it?

Please Review!  



	31. Chapter 31

**Warning: This chapter contains EXPLICIT fighting, blood, torture, gore, and other similar themes and sickening suggestive material. Please read at your own risk.**

Chapter 30 Help

The black and red hedgehog didn't even feel the cement hit his back, supposedly sending shockwaves of agony through him. His body was so numb and beyond tortured and destroyed that any pain that was inflicted on the outside registered only in his mind, and nowhere else. Any bruise or cut or scrape or broken bone didn't bother him on the outside. On the inside, however, he felt like dying.

"You fucker!" screamed Mephiles, or maybe he whispered it? Shadow's ears were filled with so much blood that much of what he heard didn't make sense. Without a doubt, though, he knew that Mephiles' heart broke when he heard what Shadow had done to Rouge. It was evident in his eyes, in his face, in the way he carelessly threw punches Shadow's way, not exactly going in a pattern or aiming for a particular body part, but just swinging his arms and hoping that he hit something to cause Shadow pain. Said hedgehog blocked the punches as best he could, and even threw in some of his own, but Mephiles' rampage knew no bounds, and it was practically impossible to get a decent hit. Having Rouge as his slave really meant that much to him… This made Shadow wonder briefly if Mephiles really did care about her, considering he went this crazy after realizing she was no longer his. Did he really have meaningful, underlying feelings for her?

No. He didn't love her. You wouldn't illegally force drugs into someone's body and then rape and torture them for years if you loved them. Mephiles only wanted her as his slave because it was the principal of the matter. If he owned Rouge, he could technically treat her the way he wanted to, regardless of whether or not it was legal. Without his collar around her neck, she wasn't his property, which was exactly what Shadow intended. Without anyone's collar around her neck, she didn't belong to anyone or anything. She had her own mind, her own opinion, her own life, a life not lived for someone else.

Which was exactly what Shadow intended.

**XXXXX**

Grabbing hold of his neck Mephiles hoisted Shadow up against the wall and choked him, squeezing his hand tightly around his throat, digging his nails in. Green eyes glowed furiously as he growled, "I'll fucking kill you!" Shadow felt his head getting heavy and starting to throb, once again desperately trying to gasp for air. Mustering some strength into his legs, which, thank Chaos, were the two appendages on him that hadn't suffered that much damage, he brought his right leg up and kneed Mephiles in his crotch. Although Mephiles remained standing, his grip on Shadow's throat loosened, and Shadow managed to free himself, falling harshly onto the floor. Before he could stand up Mephiles grabbed his top quill and tilted Shadow's head back, forcing him to look up at the darker hedgehog. A wad of bloody spit landed on Shadow's cheek as sharp nails dug into his scalp as the hold on his quill grew tighter.

"So, you like taking other peoples' slaves?" Mephiles screamed. "You should have thought twice before messing around with my goddamn property!" He slapped Shadow's face violently, drawing blood. When Shadow reached a hand up to try and hit him Mephiles kicked it down to the ground and stepped on it, crushing it underneath his foot. Shadow screamed in pain as Mephiles smiled at the sound of bones cracking. Grabbing Shadow's other hand he held it above the younger one's head and bent it sideways, trying to break it, but not going all the way, just enough to make Shadow think he was going to break it.

With one hand holding his head, the other one holding one hand, and Mephiles' foot holding down his other hand, there wasn't much Shadow could do except scream and writhe on the floor. Mephiles stood above him, keeping a firm, iron grip on the afore mentioned body parts, refusing to let Shadow get away or even move much. He kept him on his rear in a very helpless state, smiling down at him evilly, a spark of absolute madness in his eyes. "Did you have fun fucking my bitch?" Mephiles asked sarcastically, his voice as well as his heart cracking whenever he mentioned Rouge. "Did she treat you like her Master?"

When Shadow tried to open his mouth Mephiles kneed him directly in his jaw. "I hope you had fun taking what didn't belong to you…" Mephiles hissed. "Because, now, _I'm_ gonna take something that doesn't belong to _me_!" Taking Shadow's head and neck he pushed the suffering hedgehog onto the floor on his stomach. Being forced into such a helpless and vulnerable state, Shadow already had an idea of what Mephiles had planned. Quickly, he gathered up as much Chaos Energy as he could, as it surrounded his body, encasing him in red Energy. He promised that he wouldn't let it go this far… He didn't think he would have to do this. Rouge could be hurt if his Blast hits her. But... he didn't even know where she was. And whose fault was that?

Sitting up, almost in a push-up position, Shadow screamed at the top of his lungs, "CHAOS-"

He was never able to say the Blast part. Before he could say it, Mephiles punched the back of his head so forcefully that he passed out before he could perform the Blast. Well, he _almost _passed out. The Energy enveloping his body fortunately saved him from blacking out, but instead of losing consciousness, every inch of energy inside of him escaped, when it should've stayed inside his body. It fought back against him instead, cutting and ripping apart any inch of his skin in order to release itself. The end result made Shadow weak, so weak that he was seeing stars in his vision, every movement he made causing excruciating pain, his blood feeling like lead as his entire world mixed together in an uneven blob. The Energy made him sick and fatigued, and without warning he felt his body convulse in an effort to vomit, but nothing left his mouth. His throat tight and sore, every part of him either bleeding or in some amount of pain, Shadow felt like he was slowly dying.

Meanwhile, Mephiles mounted Shadow's exposed body, sitting on his back with each leg on either side of Shadow. He grabbed the back of a red and black neck, forcing the younger hedgehog down, as his hand with only four digits pushed down on Shadow's back, preventing him from getting up. With Mephiles' added weight and his muscles already as weak as they were, Shadow couldn't move, although he tried to. He felt sharp claws scrape his back, as blood started to pour out of the fresh cuts. When he tried to raise his bleeding arm it fell down involuntarily, feeling extremely heavy. A tongue licked his ear sending terrible shivers down his spine. He heard Mephiles whisper sadistically, "I'm gonna show you how it feels when something is taken away from you, 'hog." He licked Shadow's ear seductively, then bit down harshly, drawing blood. Shadow screamed in pain and embarrassment, wanting more than anything to escape the demon above him, but his body just wouldn't move. "Get off, get the fuck off of me!" Shadow shrieked in agony, as he felt tears well up in his eyes. He was right about what Mephiles was planning. The darker hedgehog was going to take something very valuable away from him, which was what _he_ did to Mephiles when he took Rouge.

But taking Rouge away wasn't as painful as what Mephiles had planned.

"You're cute when you're screaming!" Mephiles told him, laughing insanely. He reached behind him and grabbed Shadow's tail, yanking on it. "No wonder **Rouge likes you!" **Mephiles growled and swore under his breath as he said this, emphasizing the fact that Rouge liked Shadow. For the first time Shadow actually heard the underlying meaning of Mephiles' words. There was a bitter tone in his voice whenever he mentioned her name, called jealousy. His eyes were filled with it. Jealousy. He wanted Shadow to pay because he was jealous that Rouge had fallen in love with him. He was prepared to make Shadow feel the pain he felt when he realized Rouge no longer had feelings for him. This monster sitting atop of him envied everything about Shadow not only because he took Rouge away, but because Rouge preferred him over her former Master. Jealousy was what drove Mephiles insane, and he was insane to begin with, the only difference now was that he actually had a reason for it.

**XXXXX Warning: This part contains yaoi / male on male material. Please skip this part if you are offended in any way. **

Letting go of Shadow's tail he reached farther down and put a hand near Shadow's rear. Cupping a butt cheek he squeezed it tightly, and Shadow yelped at the foreign, uncomfortable touch. He tried to position his shoulders as if he was about to get up, but his body wouldn't let him move more than a few inches, so he was forced to remain on his stomach, practically defenseless. In all his life Shadow had never felt so helpless, even in his most challenging battles with Sonic or Knuckles or Eggman, or fighting against Black Doom and his army. He felt useless, and broken, his body refusing to help him in the slightest. He was so weak that he couldn't even get out from underneath a hedgehog that was just about the same size as him. The failed Chaos Blast did him in, and now he was forced to pay the price of it, the price, of course, coming at a high cost.

"You're gonna feel… what I fucking felt…!" Mephiles hissed, as Shadow felt him sitting now on the small of his back, leaning on his hands which pressed into Shadow's upper back.

"GET OFF, PLEASE STOP!" Shadow screamed desperately, wriggling back and forth in a cheap effort to get away. He felt more hands touching him in spots he never wanted anyone to ever explore. The sadistic, insane clown above him was planning to torture him as he had done with Rouge, and Shadow felt like there was nothing he could do about it. He was helpless, feeling so much pain that small movements took forever to execute, and even then it was a waste since his body could only _make_ small movements. He screamed and begged, but Mephiles' hands continued exploring his lower regions, slapping his butt and running his fingers up and down it. Squirming didn't help, as Mephiles wrapped one arm around Shadow's torso, as his other hand played around with Shadow's intimate spot continuously, making him feel so much more uncomfortable, and helpless.

And… like Rouge. He also felt like Rouge. One who was so weak, and feeble, and unable to stop what was happening to her. Being forced to endure sick, cruel things. Right now, Shadow felt just like her. "STOP, STOP PLEASE!" Shadow continued to beg, but it was no use. There was no stopping the manic fucker from doing this to him. It was almost inevitable… Shadow closed his eyes and pretended to be somewhere else, think of something else. He couldn't stand what was happening to him, more specifically what was_ about_ to happen to him. Mephiles was laughing above him, obviously enjoying dominating the one below him. Again, Shadow forced himself to pretend he wasn't here. This wasn't happening to him, this wasn't happening to him, this wasn't happening to him, he wasn't about to be…

And then he felt a finger slip inside of him.

He screamed and growled and begged. The tip of Mephiles' finger poked in and around his tail-hole for a little while, making the younger hedgehog shake and shiver in anticipation and fear. Then, without warning, the entire finger went inside of him, hard and fast, ripping his inside walls. The unexpected intrusion made Shadow yell out in surprise, as he screamed for Mephiles to stop his actions, scraping and clawing against the cement floor until his fingernails started to bleed. He couldn't remember how many times he told the devil above him to stop, which he never did, not for an instant. He jammed his finger inside of Shadow's ass, thrusting hard, slipping a second finger in as he forced Shadow's inner walls to open up and bleed. "I'm gonna make you feel what I fucking felt! You're gonna suffer like I fucking suffered!" he told Shadow, over and over, repeating the words until Shadow heard nothing but those phrases echoing in his head. Shadow closed his eyes again, cursing his body for allowing him to be tortured like this.

Finally, the fingers left his tail-hole, bloody and dirty when Mephiles pulled them out. Reaching up he smeared the blood on Shadow's face, the black and red hedgehog screaming, "Please stop, get off of me, stop this!" But Mephiles only laughed, green eyes painted with envy and insanity. "You're gonna suffer!" he repeated. "For taking my slut away from me, I'll make you feel everything I felt! I'll make you wish you never fucked with my motherfucking property!" In his rampaging fury Mephiles punched and kicked and slapped Shadow's body, literally his entire body, for so long until Shadow lost count of how many blows there were. Everything was a surreal blur, a nightmare, that he couldn't escape from.

Grabbing both of Shadow's hips Mephiles said, "Let's see… if Rouge still wants you… after I'm fucking finished with you, you dirty goddamn 'hog!" Shadow felt something blunt and big hit against his ass, wanting to throw up when he realized what it was. For a moment he felt some of his Energy restoring, filling his body with power and strength, but not enough to knock the hedgehog on top of him off. "Stop, stop, please!" Shadow begged, ashamed at how pathetic he was and how low he allowed himself to stoop. The object banging against his most intimate spot started to enter him, the tip already sending waves of pain through him. His legs and hips had gone numb as the object slowly entered him further, beginning to rip him from the inside. He screamed, and screamed, his throat bleeding and his lungs practically breaking. He felt like his body was being torn in half by the sadistic bastard above him, who was laughing and laughing as he repeated again, "Rouge will hate you now… and she'll take me back!" This made Shadow wonder if Mephiles was doing this for himself, or for Rouge. Or maybe for neither?

The object entered even further, not exactly breaking Shadow's virginity yet, but close enough to do so. Shadow knew Mephiles was going to make him suffer for as long as he could, and Shadow couldn't do a damn thing about it. Chaos Energy built up inside of him, but would it be enough to try and stop this? He could feel his rear being ripped, his insides bleeding and trying to stop whatever was impaling them. He begged, and pleaded, and screamed, and cried, wishing for it all to end. One simple push into him and Mephiles would have broken him. It was sick, twisted, and immoral. Shadow wanted to die.

He felt his back getting hot, hating himself for instinctively reacting to the new feeling. The heat grew until it was almost unbearable, as he banged his fists on the ground begging God and Chaos to make it stop, make it stop, because he couldn't take it anymore. Mephiles was grunting above him, taking his time in making Shadow suffer, waiting for the best moment to enter him fully. The heat Shadow was feeling was getting intense, surrounding his body as it started to burn him. He felt as if his back was literally on fire. Was Mephiles doing something to his back? He didn't think this much heat would come from the intimate, albeit involuntarily, touch. He felt cold sweat dripping down his bloody face, as he gasped for air, choked sobs coming out of his mouth, the fiery heat growing and growing. The scorching was becoming too much for Shadow, and even though the fire masking his body only lasted about three seconds, it felt so much longer to him. He was about to scream out, until he heard Mephiles scream first. He wasn't sure why Mephiles screamed the way he did, though. The object hadn't entered Shadow any further, and he was pretty sure the darker hedgehog hadn't already climaxed. He couldn't worry about it for long though, because the heat was still growing and getting hotter and hotter. Mephiles screamed again, this time Shadow felt the object come out of him completely, and immediately he knew something was the matter. He forced his heavy neck to twist around and look at his torturer, and even though it took a great deal of time, he finally managed to position it correctly in order to look at Mephiles.

And through his bloody, tired eyes Shadow looked up to see Mephiles' face engulfed in flames.

**XXXXX** ****

An agonizing scream echoed through the cell as Mephiles reactively jumped off of Shadow and kneeled on the floor, hitting his flame-covered face and shaking it crazily as if he was having a seizure. He screamed terrifying shrill screams which almost broke Shadow's eardrums, as said hedgehog was trying to make sense of what had just happened, and how Mephiles' face could have caught fire. Before he could think straight enough to come up with a possible explanation, through his foggy eyes he saw a purple haze fly past him, landing on the still screaming Mephiles. Shaking his head, Shadow forced his eyes to work properly and in an instant he saw Blaze tackle the distressed and distracted Mephiles to the ground, kneeling on his back, barely keeping him down.

"B-Blaze!" Shadow could hardly pronounce her name. He was shocked to see Rouge's friend still alive. In all honesty, he thought that Mephiles would have killed her when she started screaming his name through the wall.

He was overjoyed to see her still alive.

Blaze didn't stay on top of Mephiles for long, though. She wobbled off of him, holding her head with a pained look on her face. More and more Chaos Energy flowed through Shadow, and when he tried to stand up, he actually stayed on his knees instead of falling over. Using every bit of newfound strength inside of him he crawled over to her and knelt beside her, asking, "Are you alright?" She gave a quick nod, looking back toward Mephiles, who was still face down on the ground, his face no longer in flames, yet there was a gash on his forehead, dripping blood. The way Blaze tackled him must have caused him to hit his head on the cement floor, rather hard in order to cause such a gash. Shadow could see that the darker hedgehog was dazed, trying to get up and make sense of what happened as he slowly forced himself onto his knees. Shadow knew it wouldn't be long before he would be standing on his feet again.

Turning away from Mephiles Shadow returned his attention to Blaze, who looked as if she was ready to pass out. Although his rear was in pain he forced himself to concentrate on her and worry about himself later. Her skin was pale and the life was no longer evident in her eyes, and she looked as if her body was already dead, by the way she forcibly dragged it and slowly moved it, her actions, no matter how small they might be, causing her great pain. There was a huge gash on the back of her head, similar to Mephiles', only bigger and bleeding more heavily. Shadow immediately started to panic, ripping his glove off and tearing it open, making it long enough to wrap around her head. Again he asked, "Are you okay? Do you think you'll be able to hold on?" He knew he had to get her to the hospital as soon as possible. A wound as large and deep as the one on her head would need stitches, and the glove he wrapped around it was already soaked in blood. Looking up at him with glossy eyes Blaze said in a surprisingly strong voice, "I'll be okay, Master Shadow. Please don't worry about me…"

But Shadow found it hard to obey her. Despite how much he hated her and distrusted her when she first arrived at his door, he felt so protective of the small cat now. Even though she lied to Rouge and him she did make an effort to help him find where Mephiles took her and Rouge, and she also just saved him from being raped right now. Right next to Rouge, Blaze's life became a gigantic priority, just like how Rouge's life became a priority when he found her in that alley. He kept a gentle grip on her as he helped her to her feet, which was a feat in itself for Shadow, who was still pretty weak but surprisingly gaining more Energy quickly. He told her that he will get her help as soon as he could. But Blaze didn't seem to care about herself at all, but instead about him.

"I-I want to help you," she told him strongly. She looked back to Mephiles with a disgusted look on her face, as if she was appalled to see his body there, still breathing. Looking back to Shadow she said, "Please, let me help you." He wasn't exactly sure what she meant by "help." Did she want to help him kill Mephiles, or did she want to help him find Rouge? Or both?

The answer was definitely both.

However, as much as he would have loved Blaze helping him, he knew she was in no condition to exert herself. She looked so weak, and she had trouble keeping her balance most of the time. But even though Shadow refused to let her help him and instead let her sit down and rest, she wouldn't follow his orders.

"Please, Master Shadow, let me help you!" she begged him. She grabbed his shoulders tightly and looked at him with pleading, teary eyes. "I'll do anything, anything at all to help you. I don't know how to fight but I can make flames, see?" Holding out her bloody palm she produced a small ball of fire in her hand, but it died rather quickly. Desperately, she grabbed his shoulders even tighter, her frail hands almost hurting Shadow, and pleaded, "Just let me help you, that's all I want…" Her hands let go of his shoulders as her knees gave out, and she almost collapsed onto the ground before Shadow grabbed hold of her and helped her back up, wrapping his arms around her waist to help her stay on her feet.

Looking at the desperate, begging, crying cat clinging to him made him feel awful. She wouldn't be in this condition if he hadn't let Mephiles take her and Rouge away. If_ she_ was in this bad a condition, only Chaos knows if Rouge-

"Blaze, where's Rouge?" Shadow asked, screaming into the poor cat's ear. She looked up at him confused, then turned her head to the side, staring at the wall that he blew up. She gasped when she saw it, and told him, "I-I don't know… I blacked o-out. She was… over there." She pointed to the same wall.

Shadow guessed that her blacking out must have been because of the gash on her head, which was still continuing to bleed. "Please Blaze, sit down," he said strictly, but gently, as he helped her to a wall farther from Mephiles, and sat her down slowly. But as soon as he let go of her, she shot right back up and begged, "Please, I want to help you!" Her determination was starting to become a distraction, as Shadow could hear Mephiles grunting on the floor, still trying to stand up.

"Blaze, why do you want to help me so bad?" he asked her, half of his attention on her, the other half on Mephiles. All of his attention was somehow still on Rouge.

"Because, you spared my life," she told him. He looked confused, so she explained, "When I told you about the plan I was in on with them, I knew that you were really mad at me and wanted to kill me. But you didn't. You let me live, despite all the trouble I caused. Helping you is the least I could do, Master Shadow."

With the sudden reminder of how horrible he treated her at first, Shadow couldn't help but feel guilty. He remembered himself saying that she wasn't worth his trouble, and it took forever until he was finally able to trust her. He wished he could take all of his unkind words back, and he wouldn't have been able to say that before all of this. But now was different. Now he saw the true side of Blaze, one that wasn't ruled by a Master or threatened and ruined by one. By the way she screamed his name to let him know where Rouge and her were, it was apparent that she wanted to make up for the hell she put him and Rouge through. She was determined, and strong, and like Rouge, she ignored the piece of leather that was around her neck, and the owner she was sold to. She was strong-minded, and opinionated, the exact opposite of what a slave was taught and expected to be. She wanted to help him, and she didn't care about the agony her body was suffering through, and the risks she ran.

Unsure of what to do, Shadow looked behind him to see Mephiles kneeling on the ground, holding his head, grunting and groaning in pain. Physically, Mephiles was pretty strong, with fine muscles and a toned body, and he was fairly young too, only a little older than Shadow. He couldn't understand why the darker hedgehog was having so much trouble standing up. Not that he didn't welcome the advantage though. He wondered briefly if he would have time to search for Rouge, who, with all of his unintentional stalling and unnecessary talking that wasted him absolutely precious time, was now as good as dead.

_If I go look for her, and find her dea_- he couldn't bring himself to say the dreadful word- _I don't know what I'll do…_ Deep down, he wanted to find her, carry her home, and beg her to forgive him. But where would he start? The room was as dark as him, blackness surrounding everything; you looked into blackness, you stood in it, you fought in it, and the one lone light bulb that up until this point served as the main light source, had starting to dim and eventually it died out. The only light that shone into the room was from the break in the wall, which only created more or less the outlines of the three of them.

In this darkness, she could be anywhere. Which was exactly what Mephiles intended. She wasn't screaming, or crying, or banging on a wall, so Shadow inferred that she must have been knocked out or… and this made it almost impossible to find her.

Which was exactly what Mephiles intended.

**XXXXX **

"Blaze I know you want to help me, but…" Shadow was lost. Everything was lost. He hadn't even fought the battle yet he already lost. Blaze was dying- at least, she would eventually if he didn't get her help, which he swore he would- and Mephiles was now kneeling on one foot, breathing hard and fast, wiping blood out of his eyes and trying to find where Shadow and Blaze were in the darkness. It felt like time was moving slowly. Shadow wanted to melt into the hard cement below him, but thankfully Blaze asked him a question that took his mind off of the situation at hand, albeit for only a second or two.

"H-how did y-you manage to get away from Silver?" she asked him, agony and misery in her still defiant voice. She sounded determined, yet in great pain, and even so, she didn't let her suffering overtake her. Shadow really liked that about her.

"I…um," Shadow stammered as he thought of the best way to word what he was about to tell her. After all, Silver was her Master, and to come out and tell a slave that he just murdered her owner would be hell. But he took his chances, and said plainly, "I killed him." And to his surprise, she smiled at him. A shocked smile, one filled with disbelief and surprise, but it was a smile that made him happy, if only for the moment.

"You killed him?" she asked, and he nodded. She reached up and hugged him, as he was taken aback by her sudden affection. Whispering into his shoulder she told him sincerely, "Thank you." He never thought that Blaze would actually thank him for what he did, but after how horrible and vile Silver turned out to be, it was only right for her to hate him and welcome his death. But now without an owner, this begged the question, What will Blaze do now? She didn't seem to be worried about herself though, as she was still smiling and even giggling at the thought of Silver actually dead, looking at Shadow as if she couldn't believe he did what he did, but glad that he did it nonetheless.

"You killed him," she said still smiling. "How did you kill him? Did he hurt you?"

"I stabbed him, with his own knife. He was a puny little cocksucking cunt, he couldn't fight for shit," Shadow replied, angry and disgusted thinking back to Silver. That albino's death was (so far) the only thing that went correct. He only wished that Blaze and Rouge could have seen it.

She hugged him again, closing her eyes as she envisioned what Silver might look like with stab wounds and a lifeless body. Silver must have treated her horribly, Shadow thought, for not even a hint of a frown or sadness or regret or disappointment were anywhere on her features. "You're… you're not lying, are you?" Blaze asked carefully.

"No fucking way am I lying," Shadow answered. "I killed him for Rouge, I killed him for you, hell I killed him for myself. I stabbed him in his chest, and his neck-"

"WHAT?"

Both hedgehog and cat jumped at the almost guttural sound. Whipping their heads around they saw that Mephiles finally managed to stand up, leaning over only slightly, still panting. He was looking at the two of them, his eyes raging with unwavering fury. For the moment, Shadow had almost forgotten that Mephiles was there, and it was obvious he overheard the little conversation regarding Silver. "What the fuck did you do to him!" Mephiles screamed in absolute horror, but by the look on his face, he already knew the answer.

"I killed him," Shadow said matter-of-factly, as if the murderous act meant nothing. "He's lying in a pool of his own blood right now, burning in hell as we speak. I took a picture of it, if you don't believe me." The last part wasn't true, but Shadow said it anyway to aggravate the darker hedgehog.

Said hedgehog looked as if he was about to throw up. His face turned pale as tears welled up in his eyes, the first tears that Shadow had seen from him. Mephiles looked down, his breathing hitched as his chest moved up and down rapidly. "NO!" he screamed horrifically, the piercing cry sending a painful shock through Shadow's body. "No! You couldn't… you can't!" Mephiles was lost for words, the image of Silver dead forever planted in his mind. This hedgehog, this hedgehog in front of him, smirking, bleeding, and suffering, had enough strength in his body to murder Silver? Kill him, in one of the most horrifying ways you could kill someone…

Silver was no match for him?

Almost as if Shadow heard the last line go through Mephiles head, the black and red hedgehog said, "That perverted bastard was no match for me. Before long I had him begging me to let him go." Shadow lowered his eyes, continuing to smirk, "He was the reason your big, "_heroic",_ plan failed, Mephiles. He was no assassin. He wasn't even good at keeping secrets. He told me everything I wanted, needed, to know. Hell, he even told me that you were planning to torture Rouge and Blaze once you got them back. Silver was the reason everything blew up in your face."

"He… he told you… where I was taking them?" Mephiles asked in disbelief, his voice filled with different emotions, all of them expressed equally. As if Shadow hadn't have had enough fun sewing the fact that Rouge was no longer his into him, now he was stitching the fact that Silver was dead into him, and that his lover betrayed him. Everything was coming out at once, in a gigantic, surreal blur of truth, and Mephiles felt it beating him senseless, killing him slowly.

But he would not die before taking his revenge out on this hedgehog.

**XXXXX **

As he faced the two across from him Mephiles brought a hand to his forehead and tried to stop the blood from pouring out. His face was burnt from where Blaze had attacked him, bits of skin peeling off, his fur singed and smelling awful. No doubt he was in an immense amount of pain, staring at Shadow and Blaze vengefully. His body was practically frozen, the only part of him moving being his chest and his tears, and also his blood, which poured disturbingly into his eyes from the top of his head. Disbelief and utter shock were painted on his features, as his unmoving, terrifying stare bore into Shadow's body and sent a cold shiver down the younger hedgehog. If Mephiles' looks could kill, Shadow would be beyond dead by now.

"You took away my slave…" Mephiles started, putting his head down, his voice cracking and basically dead, with no emotion. "Then… you killed… him…" Shadow and Blaze could practically see the agony and heart-break Mephiles was going through, and they smiled as they watched. The darker hedgehog's face shot up at once, his eyes pained and wet, and he screamed, "Do you know how badly you fucked my life up, hedgehog! Do you know how much shit you've put me through?"

Before Shadow could answer him, Blaze cut in, "Do _you _know how much shit you've put _him _through? It's you who ruined his life, Mephiles! You fucked up everything!" She stepped forward as if she was about to attack him, but Shadow quickly grabbed her arm and held her back, glaring at her, even though she was technically right about what she said.

"Don't you fucking talk to me like that, you bitch!" Mephiles reprimanded.

"Don't you talk to her! You have no fucking right to talk to her!" Shadow yelled back, pushing Blaze behind him, protecting her. The symbolism and relation between Shadow and Blaze was obvious to Mephiles, who sneered in disgust. "What, _she's_ your slave now, too?" he asked Shadow accusingly. "Goddamn, hedgehog, how many cunts do you need to fuck? Wasn't **Rouge **enough for you?"

Shadow could feel claws digging into his arm, and looking down he saw Blaze tightening up at Mephiles' words. Looking into her eyes all he could see was anger and vengeance, and she never took them off of the Master across from her. The pain that was evident in her yellow pools came from the memories of what Mephiles had done to her in the past. Reliving every horrible incident and torturous act, her mind and soul were consumed with a revenge so apparent anyone could see it. Seems like Shadow wasn't the only one lusting to see Mephiles die.

Although his body protested, Shadow prepared himself to fight, glad that there was enough Chaos Energy in him to put up a good chance of stopping Mephiles. He said to him darkly, "I'll ask you one more time, fucker. I'm not asking again. If you don't give me the answer I want, you'll regret it." He gave one last look to Blaze, telling her with his eyes what he wanted her to do, and even though no words were spoken, she understood.

He asked, "**Where is Rouge?" **

Without even a moment's hesitation, Mephiles answered laughing, "… She's dead."

And it wasn't the answer Shadow wanted.

**XXXXX**

Two black bodies rolled around on the floor, fists swinging and legs kicking, bones cracking and blood pouring. Before, Shadow hesitated trying to kill Mephiles, and kept his punches low and few. He did so because the possibility of Rouge alive loomed over his head. But now that that possibility no longer existed, there was no point in letting this demon live any longer. Was Rouge actually dead? Shadow didn't know. Was she actually alive and okay? Shadow didn't know. But it had to be one of them, so Shadow let Blaze find out for the both of them. Without a moment to lose the frail cat began to search the entire cell, calling Rouge's name. She checked every corner and crevice, multiple times, screaming out her name at the top of her lungs, desperately wanting an answer, but not receiving one. Meanwhile, Shadow commenced his ongoing fight with Mephiles, this time making sure that every punch and kick counted. Without his brain telling his body what to do, Shadow felt his arms and legs move by themselves, sporadic emotions driving them to inflict the greatest amount of pain possible on this monster fighting him. Mephiles' words ran through his mind silently, almost chanting, "She's dead. She's dead. She's dead." The black and red hedgehog refused to let the real meaning of those words register in his head, because they hurt too much to think about. As far as he was concerned, the two words together meant nothing. To him, they weren't even truthful.

Because he wouldn't know what to do if they were truthful.

"ROUGE!" Blaze screamed miserably, afraid of the silence that followed her cry. She ran around the room frantically, the blood dripping from the top of her head leaving a trail behind her. She tipped over the desk that Mephiles had used earlier, and continued to call Rouge's name. She even crawled around on the floor to see if Rouge was hiding in the darkness, but she didn't find her anywhere. Panic started to strike at her as she began to fear the worst.

Unfortunately, Shadow didn't have time to worry about Blaze's plight. His determination and anger mindlessly motivated him to do whatever it took in order to kill Rouge's former Master. He punched, and bit, and scratched, and ripped at Mephiles' body, letting his body take over for his mind as he thoughtlessly beat the older hedgehog. And all the while, Mephiles laughed at Shadows movements, blocking most of his attacks, but laughing as he did so. The emotions in his face changed so quickly and randomly that Shadow found it hard to decipher what Mephiles was planning to do, if he was planning to do anything at all. A bloody fist punched the laughing mad-man square in the cheek, but instead of crying out in pain he grinned sadistically as he spit out two teeth. He cackled loudly at the younger hedgehog, a blood-filled mouth smiling widely. His distorted face and expression made Shadow sick to his stomach. Ignoring the laughter bellowing through the cell Shadow sought the chance to jab Mephiles' face with his elbow, bruising his eye. Forcing him onto his back Shadow mounted Mephiles and pounded his face with his fist, blood started to leak everywhere, but the darker hedgehog laughed at the pain, crazy, maniacal laughter which drove Shadow over the edge. He couldn't take this hedgehog's giggling. The lying, swearing, accusations, beatings, and even the almost-rape, were easy to take, because those were fleeting, they were natural, and they served a purpose. The laughter… that didn't fit in at all. And it made Shadow's blood boil and burn, as his punches grew harder and faster, until the beatings no longer served _their _purpose. No matter how much he struck and hit this hedgehog, the laughter did not cease.

"Stop laughing! Stop fucking laughing!" Shadow almost begged, taking Mephiles limp arms and running his claws through them. He tore at the black and purple-grey fur until there were dirty clumps of it in his hands, the skin underneath the fur now visible. Mephiles' laughed even more, but his smile faded. Now, his laughter was angry, and insane, his eyes growing wide as they twitched crazily. Shadow could only wonder how psychotic the brain inside Mephiles' head was. Did everlasting jealousy bring him to such a state? Was Shadow's impact in Rouge's life this impressionable on him?

"She's dead," Mephiles repeated quietly. His body trembled underneath Shadow as red eyes glared into green ones, the stare tearing through the both of them. "There, I gave you an answer. She's dead." Shadow didn't believe him. At this point, Shadow couldn't believe anything that came out of Mephiles' mouth. It was all either sarcastic, a lie, and more often than not, both. Rouge wasn't dead, but Shadow couldn't prove this. Mephiles knew the truth, but Shadow would never be able to hear it. It would never leave Mephiles' lips. No, Rouge wasn't dead. Mephiles had a well-thought-out reason as to why he would say she was, though. Was it jealousy, or pure hatred for Shadow? Maybe a little of both?

"Mephiles, where is Rouge? " Blaze screamed angrily. "What did you do to her?" Mephiles ignored Blaze's cries, and opted to keep all of his attention on Shadow. The hedgehog above him stuck his claws into Mephiles' veins, the skin ripping as the blue lines underneath the tann-ish skin bled. Mephiles' barely winced at the pain, his head tilting as those terrifying snake eyes looked up to Shadow in a demented fashion. Whispering, he said to Shadow, "She's dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, DEAD! Ha, ha, ha! Fucking dead! MY slave is dead! MY slave is dead!" Shadow could almost feel the jealousy painted on each word Mephiles said. The contorted face on the one below him was enough proof to Shadow that Mephiles was no longer in his right mind. Unforgiving jealousy consumed him, tore him apart and created an irrational, broken being. He still had a purpose, and he still had a score to settle, but his motivation to carry out his purpose and score was nothing but sheer madness. It took Shadow this long to realize just how mentally unstable and fucked up Mephiles really was.

"MY slave is dead… you killed her!" he screamed to Shadow. He did not fight back, or try to get away. He remained underneath Shadow, snickering darkly and continuing to say "_My_ slave is this…_ my_ slave is that…" Shadow could hear Blaze running around behind him, panting and screaming Rouge's name. Since Mephiles was too concerned with "his slave", Shadow looked behind him to see Blaze on her knees, one hand holding her head, the other preventing her body from falling over. There was pain in her face, and she started to cry as the wound in her head continued to bleed. Shoving the tears out of her face she stood back up, running deeper into the cell until she reached a corner, covered in darkness. Shadow could no longer see her in the blackness, so he prayed silently to himself, _Please find Rouge there, please find her there._ Mephiles laughed underneath him, also watching Blaze. "You killed MY slave. She is MINE and you killed her!" Mephiles growled, earning a swift punch to the face from Shadow. He would have beat him some more, even though the punches were doing nothing to the laughing hedgehog, but a terrifying scream from Blaze sent Shadow's heart to his stomach, as he immediately guessed what could have caused Blaze to shriek.

Unbeknownst to Shadow, Blaze had merely tripped over something on the floor, sending her face-first into the cold cement. Feeling around in the darkness she tried to find what she tripped over. Her hand landed on something cold, and wet, the wetness staining her hand. She couldn't see what the substance was, so she brought her hand to her nose and smelled it, and it turned out to be blood. She felt the object again, pulling on it only to discover that it was attached to the ground. Or so it seemed to be. She guessed that it was a latch, connected to the floor. Feeling around the latch she felt wood, contrasting to the cement she was sitting on. The latch seemed to be connected to the wood, not the cement, and when she pulled the latch, the wood started to move and creak. It was a door, a trap door, which lead into a hole in the ground. The latch was locked, and there was no way to pry it open without the key for it. Still, she pulled on it, the wood making loud, powerful creaks as if it was going to burst.

And those loud, powerful creaks, were all that Mephiles needed to become aware of what Blaze was trying to open. The laughter died in his throat almost too quickly, and Shadow's head shot down when the laughter had finally stopped. His head was down for a second, only a second, but it was all the time Mephiles needed. Without warning he gave one quick swipe to Shadow's face, his unsheathed claws scraping across Shadow's left eye painfully, as he was taken aback by the sudden addition of pain. He brought his hand up to his bleeding eyelid, and Mephiles took the opportunity to knock the younger one off of him, and escape from under him. Mephiles' movements were too fast to comprehend, and before Shadow could even open his eye again to see where he went, the darker one already had Blaze in a chokehold, his immense strength easily lifting the purple cat off of her feet, and she screamed in pain. Shadow looked up toward her voice, and was practically blinded by the new light source that was somehow turned on in the past few seconds. Mephiles must have turned it on in order to make sure that Blaze was where he thought she was. It was a bright light bulb, like the one before, which sent excruciating pain through Shadow's eyes, and for a while he thought that he had actually gone blind. He hadn't, but his vision consisted of purple blotches and stars, making him dizzy. Feeling his way around the floor he tried to stand up, but the dancing shapes blocking his sight made him lose his balance and fall over helplessly. He couldn't help Blaze if he tried to, which he did.

The new light bulb was directly over Mephiles and Blaze, both of their eyes squinting, quickly trying to get used to the light. Mephiles started to choke Blaze, but yelped when the pain in his arm became too much. He let Blaze fall to the floor, grabbing his arm and squeezing it tightly. Hurriedly, Blaze scrambled back to the latch of the trap door, the new light allowing her to see what she was trying to open before. The door wasn't big, with the latch directly in the middle of it, blood-stained wood surrounding the dirty metal handle. Again she tried to pry it open, but to no avail. Even when Mephiles' bloody four-fingered hand grabbed her hair and pulled her to her feet, she didn't let go of the latch. She hissed violently into his face, spit landing on his already dirty cheeks. He growled, desperation and fear evident in his eyes. Carelessly, he grabbed her hands and forcefully pried them away from the latch, holding them tightly, crushing her fingers. She howled, as more tears left her eyes, feeble, almost pathetic attempts at trying to get away from the Master not working in the slightest. She looked up to Mephiles, afraid, yet still strong, searching his face in order to figure out why he was so desperate and quick to get her away from this trap door.

She knew why.

"Silly little… slave-girl," Mephiles hissed, spitting in her face. She looked away from him, kicking the wooden door underneath her, hoping that by some miracle it would open or break. He said to her evilly, "You should know better than to touch things… without your Masters permission!"

"My Master is dead!" she yelled back to him. "And I couldn't be happier," she added.

He twisted her captive hands, and she screamed. "Now how about, you be a good little slave, and sit down quietly, while I take care of this hedgehog…?" He shoved her into the wall, and she whimpered as her small back made impact with the solid cement. "Then… when he's dead… you and me… could have some fun…?" She shivered at his words, knowing what Mephiles' definition of _fun_ consisted of. Crying, she struggled to get away from him, but he kept an iron grip on her, refusing to let her move anywhere, specifically move towards the trap door. Blaze realized that at this point, escaping would be nearly impossible. Whatever was under that door, Mephiles didn't want her to see. So she did the next best thing:

She screamed, "Rouge, are you in there?" And her cry set Mephiles beyond what a normal person would call "the edge." He kicked her in her private area, shaking her roughly as if she was a puppy being punished for doing something bad. She sobbed and whimpered, not exactly at the pain Mephiles was inflicting on her, but at the fact that she didn't get an answer from the trap door. She screamed again, and Mephiles banged her entire body into the cement, almost snapping her in half. Again, no answer. Blaze felt her heart, as well as some bones, break.

"Now, now Blaze," Mephiles said, forcing his words to sound nice and soft, but they came out fake and scary, "let's not do that. You know better than to speak unless spoken to!" She said to him, "Fuck you! Where is she? Is she in there?" He slapped her face, kicking her again in her private area, and she doubled over in pain. Mephiles stole a look toward Shadow, who was beginning to retrieve his sight, and starting to stand up, looking at Mephiles, then the door Blaze found, then Blaze. Mephiles, door, Blaze. Mephiles, door, Blaze.

There were only seconds before Shadow would come running to save Blaze and then investigate the door she was screaming to, so Mephiles used those seconds wisely. Blaze was now screaming into his ear, calling for Rouge, every scream coming from her throat sending waves of panic through him. He couldn't help but steal several looks toward the door himself, but fortunately for him, it remained silent. But he couldn't hold onto that silence forever. Blaze's cries could easily damage that silence. So, he made a choice. Not for Blaze, but for himself, for his own selfish benefit. Would he regret the choice once he made it? Yes. Would he live with that regret until he died? Yes. Would he regret making it as he did it?

No.

It was merely a second before Shadow dashed forward toward the hedgehog and cat. His vision targeted only three things: Mephiles, door, Blaze. Mephiles, door, Blaze. Mephiles, door,… wall?

Blaze's body was no longer pushed up against the wall, and Mephiles was no longer holding her in place. Looking down Shadow saw her helpless body lying on the floor, at Mephiles' feet. The make-shift bandage Shadow had wrapped around her head was ripped off, crumpled in Mephiles' hand. The gash on her head still bled, but what stuck out to Shadow was the gash on her forehead; a thin line starting at the top of her head down to her right eye. That gash was not there a second ago. But it was there now. Mephiles struck her, and the wound he created on her forehead knocked her out.

At least, Shadow hoped that she was just knocked out, and not…

**XXXXX **

Shadow skidded to a shattering halt at the sight of Blaze's body. He was only a few feet away from Mephiles, said hedgehog now fuming in worry, pain, insanity… there were too many to name. His facial expressions changed from absolutely nothing, to almost every emotion you could think of. Shadow couldn't help but take a step back, simply out of paralyzing fear. Looking at Mephiles made him anxious, and frightened. He didn't like how complicated the darker hedgehog's facial expressions were. At this moment, his insanity could drive him to snap

Shadow in half, or give him a hug. There was no way of knowing what he was going to do, until he did it.

He said to Shadow angrily, "You see, this is what happens when you go around fucking with slaves! You mess with their head… and then…" He didn't bother to finish the sentence, his green eyes glowing in fury. Although he barley exerted any strength, he was panting, and so was Shadow. Neither of them moved, but their eyes searched their counterparts for what seemed like centuries. The battle going on between them, without them even moving, made the world around them spin in slow motion, the air was silent and deafening. Their lips didn't move, yet they communicated perfectly, summaries of what just happened, what is happening, and what is about to happen, running through their heads as they assessed the situation. Shadow blinked painfully, and Mephiles blinked back, and that small movement told both hedgehogs that their opposite was ready. And there was no turning back now.

Like he said before, Shadow felt that everything was lost. Silver was dead. Rouge was... somewhere. Blaze was… he didn't know. And Mephiles was more than ready to rip his heart out. Shadow could feel the cold, horrific grip of guilt wrapping around him, making his insides tight and heavy, aching in unbearable pain. His guilt forced him to regret every choice he made up to this point. Killing Silver, screaming Rouge's name, breaking that wall, fighting with Mephiles', wasting every bit of irreplaceable time that he was generously given, fighting, fighting, talking, asking, screaming, begging, hurting, fighting, fighting… every little, and big, action he did, he regretted ever doing it, because if he hadn't have did it, he might not have been where he was now, faced with the inevitable, the deserved, the unknown. Again he felt as if he shouldn't be here. He was in the wrong place, at the wrong time. His plan wasn't supposed to turn out like this, yet it did. He wasn't supposed to be here. Rouge wasn't supposed to be here. His promise wasn't supposed to break and leak blood on his palms. This burden was never intended to be his to carry. How did he get here? How did he allow himself to be thrown into this? This wasn't right. This wasn't right!

Staring at the hedgehog before him, it wasn't easy to think that he was the cause of Shadow's personal hell. It might sound easy, but it wasn't, at least not to the black and red hedgehog. He never thought that he would have to confront this monster. He wasn't above doing so, but it just, never occurred to him that it would happen. He promised that it wouldn't happen. Like how he promised to protect Rouge. And how he promised to guarantee Mephiles a death much worse than Silvers'. Looking back, and looking forward, it didn't seem like those promises meant anything anymore. Even if he fulfilled them, what would happen next? He wasn't sure of what to do next, because he wasn't supposed to be here. How did he get here? _How did he get here?_

_Mephiles brought you here. That's how you got here. Mephiles brought you here. He brought you here for closure, for jealousy, for hatred. _For revenge._  
_  
As that last thought left his head, the room went dark, which was nearly impossible considering how dark the room was to begin with. But for a split second, a dark shadow loomed over the ceiling and around Mephiles, and as soon as it came, it disappeared. A piercing sound reached Shadow's ears, so loud it rang in his ears for minutes after. Now, a _white_ light spouted from nowhere, its insane brightness filling the room, surrounding Mephiles. Shadow covered his face with his arms, trying to shield his eyes from the horrible light. He closed his burning eyelids and turned his face away, starting to smell smoke. The smell was awful, so thick that he could feel it on his arms, legs, and face. He wondered where this was coming from, but it happened so fast that he didn't have time to think. The smoke enveloped him, covering the entire cell, the black fumes polluting the air, making it hard to breathe. Shadow could hear the light bulb burst above him due to the intense, almost nightmarish smoke. After a few seconds he felt it dissipate, and gathering up some courage he slowly looked up to see a creature that replaced Mephiles. What used to be Mephiles' body was now a crystalline hedgehog, his arms, legs and quills encased in shining crystal. His mouth and nose were gone, but somehow he was still breathing, his mouth-less muzzle moving up and down, in and out. His eyes had turned a scary purple-red color, the snake-like pupils becoming thin, lime-green slits. The smoke that filled the room earlier was emanating from his non-existent feet, giving the illusion that he was floating, the fumes carrying him.

The burns on his face disappeared, the cuts and bruises Shadow caused were gone as well. The black and red hedgehog stood frozen in place, amazed by Mephiles' unknown transformation. Said hedgehog did not move from his spot, but instead stared at Shadow expectantly, as if waiting for him to do something first. But the black and red hedgehog just stood there, numb, taking in the inescapable plight he threw himself into on purpose. He had no idea Mephiles had the ability to transform into a being similar to Shadow's super form. If he had known, he probably wouldn't be here right now.

The look in Mephiles' eyes was enough proof that, beyond a shadow of a doubt, he was going to kill Shadow, or at least die trying. Raising his arms in front of his chest he created a blue orb of… something… and without warning he flung it toward Shadow, the black and red hedgehog just barely missing it as he jumped the other way, landing on his weak knees. Mephiles still did not move, but continued to glare at the younger hedgehog, as if his eyes could inflict pain on him. Quickly, Shadow stood, instinctively going into a fighting stance, studying Mephiles' new form. His whole body was encased in crystal, looking extremely impenetrable. The fumes spouting from him made it hard to see, and it was apparent that he could conjure up attacks that Shadow guessed were made up of a different type of energy. Shadow couldn't think of a way to stop him now, considering his new form. But one thing seemed pretty odd to him: Why hadn't Mephiles transformed into this crystalline being earlier? Why did he wait until this point, instead of killing Shadow first-thing? The only reason Shadow could come up with was revenge. Simple enough, because Mephiles was hungry for it, and Shadow was desperate for it.

However, before revenge could be either of theirs, Mephiles had a few words to say:

"Before, when I begged you to kill me, you told me that you couldn't do it, yet you always wanted to. What did you mean by that?"

Shadow answered, "I always wanted you dead. I said that I always wanted you dead. I never said that I wanted to kill you. I just wanted you dead."

"But, isn't that the same thing?"

"No, it's not. I wanted you to die, nothing more."

"…"

"I guess… I just never thought that…

_I would end up being the one to kill you."_

**XXXXX**

**I am so sorry for the long wait! Excuses cannot make up for my absence, I know, but I didn't want to send out something that I felt wasn't perfect, especially for you guys. I wanted this chap to be amazing, and I think I have achieved that, but you guys are the judges, so please review and tell me how I did!**

As a summary, Mephiles has found out that Shadow stole Rouge as well as Blaze away from him. It seems that no one is on Mephy's side anymore! While preventing Shadow from an almost rape (wow) Blaze tried to help Shadow but once again has been hurt by Mephiles. And to make matters worse, Mephiles has transformed! Does Shadow stand a chance against Mephiles, and will he find Rouge in time? 


	32. Chapter 32

**  
Warning: This chapter contains EXPLICIT fighting, blood, torture, gore, and other similar themes and sickening suggestive material. Not for the faint of heart. Please read at your own risk.**

Chapter 31 The Last Way  
_  
_A blue orb of energy emanated from the demon in front of him, knocking Shadow back several feet into the wall, his back once again meeting the cement with a hollowing crack of one of his bones. The crystalline figure smirked, despite lacking a mouth, and threw another orb toward his counterpart, which Shadow fortunately managed to dodge. Whatever Chaos Energy he had built up in his body was quickly dying out due to the constant attacks, signaling to him that he had to use it NOW if he wanted to stand a chance of defeating Mephiles. Sitting on bended knee he studied the transformation Mephiles performed. Blue-ish white crystal encased his body, black fumes starting at his non-existent feet rose above him and up to the ceiling, covering the room. Shadow noticed that Mephiles was still about the same size as he was before, but the crystals on his skin gave his body the illusion of being thicker and heavier.

Shadow cringed when Mephiles' fumes leaked into his eyes, blinding him momentarily. He forced his feet to blindly stand up, leaning against the wall as he tried to recover his sight. He could hear Mephiles laughing. Opening his eyes slowly he saw a shadow move toward him and smash him against the wall, grabbing his neck and choking him. Giant purple-red eyes met his own, so he closed his once again. Inches away from his face he could feel Mephiles' breath on his muzzle. Mephiles screamed, "I'm done fucking around with you, hedgehog! Do you know how much shit you've put me through?!" The crystal encased on his hand painfully slid into Shadow's exposed neck, so he gripped tighter as Shadow struggled. "You don't know how much damage you've caused! You have no fucking idea how badly you've ruined my life!" He threw Shadow across the room; the black and red hedgehog skidded across the floor and landed in a heap on the other side, near the still body of Blaze.

And near the trap door.

"_I _ruined _your _life?" Shadow choked out. "_I_… ruined _your _life!? _You_ ruined-"

Mephiles interrupted him. "What? You think it's the other way around? That _I_ ruined _your_ life? Is that what you're going to say?"

"No. I was going to say that _you_ ruined _Rouge's_ life. But knowing you, you'll just put the blame on someone else. Because you're a fucking coward. Like your little cocksucker Silver."

Screaming, Mephiles threw another orb of energy at Shadow, this time making his target. Shadow could barely breathe anymore; he had been hit so many times. With his options running low, he threw a Spear at Mephiles, surprisingly hitting him. The raw energy of his Spear made contact with the crystal on Mephiles' body, creating a piercing sound before disappearing, breaking a part of the crystal it touched. Despite the transformation, Mephiles didn't seem to become much stronger, since the Spear easily targeted his body and bruised him. Shadow scurried around on the floor in an effort to stand up, his hand landing on something wet and sticky. There was blood between his fingers, and looking down he saw a red handprint on the floor. The _wooden _floor.

Blaze lay on top of the trapdoor, as if she was protecting it. Touching her body Shadow felt her cold fur, and the terrible touch sent an agonizing chill through him. He had never touched a dead body before, so he wasn't sure if this was what it felt like. He refused to believe she was dead. Grabbing her wrist he squeezed it tightly, feeling a pulse, which may as well have been _his own_ heartbeat. He looked up at her face, desperately searching for a sign of life from her. He thought he saw an eyelid flicker slightly, but his own eyes were hurt so much that he might have imagined it. Was her chest moving up and down unevenly, or was that his head throbbing? Did her lips quiver, or was it his small whimpers of pain?

Being as gentle as he could he carefully pushed her off of the trapdoor, laying her on her back beside the latch of the door. He tugged on it. It was locked, of course, but pretty loose. He thought, _A Chaos Blast should-_

A shard of glass appeared faster than it should have, wedged into the wooden door only centimeters away from his hand. Instinctively he pulled his hand away from the glass, which turned out to be the piece of crystal his Spear broke off of Mephiles' body. Said hedgehog was on the ground, on his hands and knees, looking very defeated. Shadow couldn't understand it; his Spear _did_ hit Mephiles' body, but wouldn't that miraculous crystal have protected him? Shadow's attacks did an extreme amount of damage to Mephiles, which made Shadow wonder how weak the older hedgehog really was. He certainly didn't _talk_ weak, and his hatred toward Shadow was practically impervious.

Taking advantage of Mephiles' strength, or lack thereof, Shadow grabbed the stuck piece of crystal from the wood. The glass-like edges instantly sunk into his hands, but he tugged on it until it was free, and used it to try and break the latch. Like he said before, a Chaos Blast should be strong enough to break the door, but there wasn't enough Chaos Energy in him to pull it off yet, so this was the next best thing. Violently he jammed the sharp crystal against the latch, relentlessly banging the handle over and over as if his life, or, in this case, _Rouge's_ life, depended on it. The blood on his hands made the shard slippery, and the harder he gripped it the redder the piece of crystal got, soon becoming a shiny purple-red fragment. With his incessant banging he managed to chip the handle, likewise chipping the shard, and knocked the latch somewhat lose from the wood. Multiple times he slipped and the fragment hit his hand, impaling his skin, but the pain felt merely nominal to him.

The entire time he frantically worked he could hear Mephiles cursing and groaning a few feet away from him. He also heard a voice, a low voice, almost foggy in his ears. He thought the voice belonged to Blaze, but soon realized that it was _his_ lips that were moving. He was screaming Rouge's name, loudly, almost painfully, and to him his voice was non-existent. But he screamed her name and banged on this latch, because he wanted, _needed_, to know if she was in there.

Was she? Probably.

Was she alive? Probably not. She wasn't answering his cries. And that sent Shadow into a sickening panic.

**XXXXX**

It might have been the banging of the damned fragment of crystal against the handle, or the screaming coming from his throat, or the fact that Mephiles' strength was coming back to him, for the black and red hedgehog stopped his arm at once. What used to be the crystal was now a dime-sized piece of the shard. His blood was everywhere, serving as faulty evidence. Looking at it gave Shadow the illusion that much damage had been done to the trapdoor, when in reality, he made only little progress. Add that to the fact that he wasn't getting an answer from Rouge, and he made no progress at all.

"Get the hell away from there!" Mephiles screamed. He still looked very weak, his glowing eyes showing the pain he must have been suffering through.

"Is she in there?" Shadow asked, standing over the wood in a fighting stance. "She better be okay, fucker! Tell me where she is! She has to be in here somewhere!"

"I already told you… she's dead!"

"Tell me where you hid her!"

"She. Is. Dead!"

"Rouge, where are you?!" Shadow screamed into the darkness, his voice bouncing off the walls, already aware that he wouldn't be answered.

"She's dead!" Mephiles floated over to Shadow, standing on the wood with him. "You know you killed her, hedgehog, she's dead because of you."

Shadow punched the dark one's face, bits of crystal stinging his knuckles. Before his eyes Mephiles disappeared and he was left standing alone on the wooden door. But he could still hear Mephiles' accusing voice above and around him. "You let her die. You let MY slave die. Because of what you did to her, she had to die!"

"That doesn't make any fucking sense!" Shadow argued. "If she's… _dead…_ you better tell me where her body is!"

"Why? Why do you want to know? You told me that you didn't want to see her if she's not alive."

And Shadow still didn't want to see her if she wasn't alive. But he needed to know where she was. Regardless of her condition, Shadow needed to know what Mephiles did to her.

The darker one reappeared behind Shadow and kicked him several feet forward; the unsuspecting hedgehog flew off the wood and landed on his face. Rolling over he immediately sprung up to his feet, swinging his arm and just barely missing Mephiles' face as again the older hedgehog vanished. "You just had to go and take her away from me," Mephiles growled, jealousy and anger present in his words. "All of this is your fault, you know. I had to kill her because you left me no choice."

"You're fucking lying!" Shadow screamed, trying to locate Mephiles' voice.

"Oh…" Mephiles instantly appeared in front of Shadow and elbowed him harshly in his side, flinging him away as if he was nothing but a rag doll. "…So now _I'm_ the liar?"

_Was he lying?_ Shadow didn't know anymore. He didn't know anything anymore. Mephiles was telling him Rouge was dead, but everything Mephiles said was painted with insanity and madness so Shadow didn't know if he should believe him. Confusion and desperation started to choke him, his mind telling him things he didn't want to hear, ever. He couldn't believe what Mephiles said. Rouge couldn't be…

"Just tell me where she is…" Shadow begged, struggling to remain conscious. "I'm sick of dealing with you, I just want her!"

"That's what all of this is about, isn't it?" Mephiles asked, enjoying Shadow's somewhat faux submission. "I can't believe you're getting this upset over her. She's dead. You killed her-"

"I didn't fucking kill her! Don't you fucking say that again!"

"Fine. _**I**_ killed her, because of you. Ultimately, you were the one that ended her life so, I guess it doesn't matter how you word it."

"I didn't end her life, Mephiles! I tried to restart her life! You were the one that ruined her!"

"Whatever, she doesn't matter to me anymore," Mephiles lied, because it was obvious that having Rouge to himself was the only thing that mattered to him at this point. "So, you can leave, your work here is done. You confronted me and told me off, like the "hero" you are, but alas, you couldn't save your little slave. No, she's dead, and like you said, you don't want her if she's dead."

"Stop twisting my words around, I never said that!" Shadow told him, even though he clearly remembered saying it. Mephiles was using his words against him so he can hurt him emotionally and mentally. In his heart he would never believe that Rouge was dead, and that he allowed this devil to kill her. Even if her body was in that trapdoor, lifeless and gone, he knew he would never accept the fact that he allowed this demon to end her. But for now, he had to believe it, because it was the only thing Mephiles was telling him, and, as much as it hurt, it was the only thing he could believe in at this point. Killing Mephiles, so Rouge would not be in vain, was the only thing driving Shadow to keep trying. If he didn't have that to believe in, he wouldn't know what to do.

"She's dead. Okay. Then where is her body? You couldn't have disposed of her body that quickly! Even if she's dead she still has to be in here somewhere!" Shadow waited for the crystalline hedgehog to answer him, but his mouth-less form remained silent. "I said, 'Where is her body?' I still want to see her even if she is dead." Again, no answer, as Mephiles stared unblinking at the shouting hedgehog. "Answer me; I want to see her dead body!" Mephiles was still quiet, which drove Shadow beyond furious. Not just furious, but hopeful. He surely couldn't show the red and black hedgehog Rouge's dead body if she was still alive, now could he? And he surely couldn't tell Shadow that he lied, that would be ridiculous. So there was only one solution that could explain everything.

Angrily, he threw a punch at Mephiles, but his fist met air when Mephiles vanished, still dead silent.

"Why aren't you answering me?!" Shadow screamed, feeling like he was arguing with himself. "I'm not asking if she's alive, I'm asking where her body is!" The silence was about to make him cry, but he was determined to make Mephiles admit his lie. He could feel himself slowly tearing apart as he tried to figure out the demented hedgehog's actions and words. "So now you won't even tell me where her body is!? Then you admit you're lying to me! Admit it, you motherfucker, you're lying to me! She is alive, isn't she?! ISN'T SHE?!" Silence; silence that Shadow couldn't stand anymore.

"Fine!" Shadow yelled into the darkness, his voice cracking, hanging on the edge of sanity and sarcasm. "That is fucking fine! There's only one thing that's keeping me here then..." This line earned Mephiles' attention, for his head appeared a few feet from Shadow, his body still invisible. The outline of his face glowed in the darkness as he eagerly waited for Shadow's reply. His reply was a claw that just managed to scratch Mephiles' cheek before the head disappeared. "The one thing that's keeping me here is the one thing that, ironically, brought me here." Shadow waved his arms in front of him, claws unsheathed, ready to damage anyone and anything. Desperately he tried to find Mephiles in the dark but he couldn't. Whenever the crystalline one vanished he left not a trace behind him and there was no way of knowing where he was going to turn up.

"I came here to kill you." Shadow told the blackness. "And I'm not leaving…" He swung his fists as he spoke, aimlessly flinging them around every which way, usually hitting air and the walls. "…Until I…" He ran through the room blindly, looking for any type of sign that Mephiles was near. Finally, he spotted a ball of black fumes, recognizing it as Mephiles' shadows that surrounded him, and he grabbed it. At once Mephiles appeared in front of him, and Shadow slammed him against the wall and growled, "…Kill you!" The whole sentence was said, and the sincerity in Shadow's words meant absolutely nothing to the now laughing hedgehog he was gripping. The crystals on his body were sharp and painful, and without warning he bit down on Shadow's hand, his fangs seemingly sharper to Shadow, who quickly released his hold. And again, Mephiles vanished. It was impossible for Shadow to fight him if he kept disappearing, but what choice did he have? What else could he do?  
**  
**Echoing through the cell Mephiles' voice ran through Shadow's ears, "So, Rouge is no longer a priority then?" The way he said this made Shadow think that Mephiles wanted him to try and kill him. He mentioned Shadow's priorities more than once, which meant he was interested in what Shadow was planning to do and what order and fashion he was going to carry it out. But why would Mephiles want Shadow to switch his so–called priorities? Shadow was only here for two reasons: Rouge and Mephiles. He already told Mephiles that his death was simply an addition to Rouge's much more important safety.

"Now that my little whore is no longer your concern, I guess you'll have to deal with the "auxiliary," as you put it, hm?"

At this point, Shadow wasn't sure where his priorities resided anymore. But Mephiles was right; he _did_ have to deal with the "auxiliary."

For an instant there was a cold breeze on Shadow's back which was quickly replaced with a thick, dark substance that turned out to be the older hedgehog. Mephiles wrapped his arm around Shadow's neck and squeezed, immediately suffocating the black and red one, who forced Mephiles onto his knees with him. Both now on the floor, still suffocated and choking, Mephiles growled sadistically in Shadow's ear, "My slave is no longer your priority. **She should have never been your priority in the first fucking place**!" Shadow jabbed Mephiles' stomach, getting some shards of crystal in his elbow, and managed to break free. But of course, before he could throw a punch, Mephiles was gone. This was going to be impossible.

"Fucking coward!" Shadow screamed. "Stop hiding and come out and fight me! You taunted me for so long to come and fight you, and when I do you run away?! I thought you wanted to fight me! I thought you wanted to be my only concern! I'm done worrying about Rouge, you're the only reason I'm still here!" Whether those statements were true or not, Shadow couldn't care. Killing Mephiles was his concern. How high up it was on the list didn't matter to him. Nothing, except for this, would come before Rouge. _Except for this_. This was the _only_ exception.

**XXXXX**

Super. That was the only solution he could come up with. He would have to turn Super. But it wasn't that easy. In fact, it was nearly impossible.

Common sense told him that he should've turned Super the minute he came in here, and in retrospect he probably would've been better off if he had. But he held off because he was afraid that in his gold fury, he might accidentally hurt Rouge. She had never seen him in his Super Form before, and she didn't know what he was capable of doing. He didn't want his attacks to fail and unintentionally hurt her. But, since Mephiles _insists _that Rouge is dead, Shadow had to take the chance and transform.

Another thing that continued to stop him from turning Super was the fleeting Chaos Energy in his body, and the lack of rings. Without Energy or rings, he wouldn't last more than several minutes. And come to think of it, he had no idea where the Chaos Emeralds even were. He had one, but he needed all of them to transform, and the last time he saw all seven of them Sonic had them, but he didn't know if Sonic had used them after he gathered them. If he had, the Emeralds would've repelled from each other and scattered once again, making it even harder to summon them together not knowing where they all were. He could try and harness them, but he wasn't sure if he could. Shadow only summoned them once before, when fighting Black Doom, and he wasn't sure if he could pull it off again. He had rings and Energy inside him back then, and now he had neither. And even if he did manage to summon them, would his Super Form even work? It would definitely give him light to see, but would it help him otherwise? Would it last long enough to defeat Mephiles? Would it penetrate through the crystal on his body?

He doubted it. He doubted everything. But for Rouge, he knew he had to try.

He took out his own Chaos Emerald, its what-used-to-be shiny green surface now stained with blood. It floated around him in a circle. Bowing his head he tried to conjure the other six Emeralds, but there was so little Energy inside of him that it made the task difficult. Making these Emeralds appear would be a terribly painful challenge. After seconds of trying, no Emeralds appeared, and the worthy effort made his body ache. To add insult to injury, he felt Mephiles appear behind him and kick him forward. Shadow quickly stood back up and tried to summon the Emeralds again, forcing his thoughts to focus on the Emeralds powers.

Finally, the remaining six appeared, joining the green one as they circled around the black and red hedgehog. Their rainbow circle brought little light to the room, but Shadow still could not find Mephiles. Using their power he felt the familiar sensation of turning Super, the Chaos in the Emeralds slowly flowing into Shadow's body. His black fur turned a vanilla-golden color, finally shedding much needed light into the room. His body was filled with Energy which gave him a wonderful feeling of strength and power, feelings that only a source as mystical as the Emeralds could give him. However, the aura surrounding him quickly drained him, and the feelings were dissipating. He was afraid to move; one sudden movement could cost him his Super Form, and with no rings to back him up, he knew he had merely minutes before the Chaos was gone from his body, and he would be punished with dreadful fatigue, and quite possibly unconsciousness.

"That's a nice look for you, 'hog," Mephiles told him. "You look… festive."

"Shut up!" Shadow screamed at the walls. With the gold light of his body, he observed the cell he was in, searching for Mephiles. Again, Mephiles reappeared and tried to hit him, but Shadow flew out of the way, and landed behind him. He grabbed his neck and tried to snap it, but as his hand reached the crystal-covered fur, Mephiles vanished into a cloud of black smoke, slowly floating to the floor in a small cloudy heap. The clouds turned into liquid and stained the floor, the crystal now small shiny bits in the puddle. For an instant, Shadow thought that, with that small touch, he had killed Mephiles.

But that was too fucking good to be true.

**XXXXX**

Almost immediately Mephiles appeared in front of him, so Shadow thought that the puddle Mephiles turned into reformed. But looking down, the puddle was still there. Reaching out to the being in front of him he grabbed his top quill, and again, almost on cue, the body melted to the floor.

"What-" Shadow didn't understand. The forms that melted couldn't have been Mephiles, because he still heard his voice in the room. "It doesn't matter how many of them you defeat, you know," Mephiles said, but Shadow had no clue what those things were and what Mephiles meant. "Where are you?!" Shadow screamed. "You looking for me?" Mephiles called back.

"Come out and fight me!" Shadow ordered.

"What's the point in fighting? Rouge is dead. There's nothing to fight for anymore. And besides, I'm tired of dealing with you, hedgehog. You brought me nothing but trouble." Shadow said, "I'm fighting you because you killed her! That's why I'm here to fight you! Now come out you fucking coward and fight me!"

"Why do you care so much about her? She's dead! What good is she now?" Every time Mephiles said this Shadow wanted to cry in heartache. The only words the wounded hedgehog could hear were, _Rouge is no longer important, Rouge is dead, so forget about her, Rouge doesn't matter to either of us anymore, why bother fighting me and getting your revenge if you can't have the one thing you're avenging?_ Mephiles repeated this over and over and over hoping that Shadow would believe it eventually; that Shadow would see no point in killing this demon if Rouge wouldn't be there in the end. But Shadow didn't believe those words, no matter how hard Mephiles tried to brand them into his brain. The hope that Rouge was still alive drove him to keep fighting, and to end this.

"Don't worry about that! It's none of your concern!" he told Mephiles.

"Oh, don't tell me- you _still_ love her, don't you?" Mephiles added viciously. The carelessness in his voice sliced through Shadow's heart. He didn't answer the darker one, because he didn't have an answer, and didn't think he ever would for a question like that. Mephiles pinned Shadow against the wall, his face twisted in a sadistic rage. He had been itching to ask Shadow that question since the moment he heard his voice calling Rouge's name. For once, it was a question that Mephiles already knew the answer to, and Shadow's silence proved that the answer was most definitely…

Yes. He did love her.

And Rouge loved him.

And they always would love each other. No matter what, or who, tore them apart.

But there was one thing keeping them from being together: the person that_ brought_ them together in the first place. And knowing that was even worse than Shadow taking Rouge of his own accord. Even worse than knowing that Rouge hated him now, that she always hated him and never actually loved him. Even worse than pretending that she still did. Mephiles was the reason they were all here, that everything happened the way it did. Because of what he did. And there was no way that he could turn back time and make it so it never happened. So he would have to deal with what _is_ happening, and what's _about _to happen, because there was still a way to fix this. And both hedgehogs intended to fix it.

**XXXXX**

Mephiles vanished, and what replaced him were two identical clones of him, complete with a crystalline form and purple-black smoke surrounding them. Ignoring the fact that Mephiles was somehow able to clone himself, Shadow threw his fist at the two forms, and instantly they melted into dark clouds that fell to the floor, defeated. Shadow realized that the Mephiles' he touched before were the same kinds of clones that he just defeated. So Mephiles had the ability to clone himself? The black and red one looked at the puddles, thinking that they would spawn into more clones and fight him, but the crystal-black puddles never moved. Instead, five more clones appeared in front of him, as a dark snicker from the real Mephiles boomed above him. With one quick blow to each of them, Shadow watched as their bodies fell helplessly to the floor, and allowed himself a small smile as he relished in the satisfaction of actually defeating something, and so easily defeating it too. He looked up to the ceiling as if Mephiles was there, and gave a look that clearly stated, _You really think those can stop me?_

Looking around the room he tried to locate the real Mephiles, but he saw nothing until a huge cloud of smoke burst into the room, covering everything, including him. When the smoke cleared Shadow saw that he was surrounded by what must have been over fifty clones of Mephiles. They filled the entire room, a gigantic circle of them, each one resembling Mephiles. The closest ones to Shadow were less than three feet away from him, ready to attack. Shadow wasted no time, lunging himself into the army of clones to see if they were as weak as the ones he just took out. Fortunately for him, they were, as he took each of them out with one simple blow. Their numbers decreased quickly, and eventually Shadow was left with merely eight more to take out.

He was about to throw a punch at one near him when he noticed that his Super Form was getting dimmer. The gold light was fading, and the enchanted feeling of being filled with newfound strength and power started to leave him all too quickly. With each blow to a clone he felt himself getting weaker and weaker, realizing that his Super Form was the only reason he was able to defeat those demons so easily. They may have mimicked Mephiles in every way on the outside, but they were not able to withstand his Super abilities quite like Mephiles was. He wasn't sure if he would be able to defeat them without his Super Form. "No, fuck no!" Shadow cursed under his breath, as he heard a loud snicker come from Mephiles, happy to see that Shadow's incredible abilities would soon be gone. Quickly Shadow struck at the remaining clones, but every hit gradually became harder to administer. When there were two clones left, ten more appeared, as Mephiles continued to laugh above him, a maniacal cackle that rang in Shadow's eardrums. He tried to fight the clones, but his Super Form was barely with him anymore, and he knew fatigue would soon plague him. He cursed himself for wasting his Super Form on these clones, but with Mephiles invisible and carelessly spawning new fakes of himself, there was little Shadow could do besides destroying these replicas.

Soon there were three clones left, and only what must have been a centimeter of Chaos left in Shadow's being, and using that centimeter he took out two of the clones, and pinned the third one against the wall. He lost his Form before he could take out the third one, and refusing the urge to pass out he kept the clone against the wall as he tried painfully to conjure up enough energy to defeat him. He stole a glance into the clone's eyes, preparing to throw a punch, when he noticed immediately that this clone was the real Mephiles. How did he know for sure? The clone remained alive even after Shadow barely touched it in his Super Form, and it was laughing. His arm fell back to his side, his knees gave out as his legs buckled, and he clung onto the laughing demon to stop himself from falling to the floor. Shadows eyes started to gloss over, as his world spun around him, and just faintly he could see a blue orb forming in Mephiles' palm. He knew that orb was intended solely for him. And helplessly, the only thing Shadow could do was brace himself for an incredibly painful impact.

Mephiles' laughter stopped for one second, just one second, as he lifted his palm to release the orb of energy. And in that one second of absolute silence, Shadow's blood-filled ears heard a voice screaming his name:

_**"Shadow!"**_

And the voice belonged to Rouge.

**XXXXX**

The orb in Mephiles' hand vanished seconds after Rouge screamed. But instead of looking in the direction of the voice, his eyes remained glued to Shadows, dying to see if Shadow heard the voice as well, or if the insane hedgehog simply imagined it. The same scream came again, this time followed by a small bang, and then several more bangs on what sounded like… a _wooden_ surface. Shadow couldn't prevent his eyes from lighting up, sheer happiness evident in every line of his face. _Rouge! That was Rouge's voice! Rouge's voice!_he screamed to himself. There was no denying her sweet, beautiful voice, a voice that no angel in heaven could mimic sweeter. It sounded like absolute bliss in his ears, hearing her voice again, after such a long time of desperately trying to get to her. If all else failed, at least he was able to hear her voice one last time._ She's alive! She's alive! I knew it! I knew she was alive! _And even better, he knew where she was. The bangs on the wood, the trapdoor, continued, and for a moment Shadow wished that they would never stop. If they stopped, her screaming might stop too. And if her screaming stopped, Shadow was all too aware of what would be the cause of it.

Mephiles didn't dare to let go of Shadow, but his grip definitely loosened. His actions came to a shattering halt from the sudden interruption, feeling pieces of his inside disintegrate painfully seeing Shadow's face beaming at the sound of his former slave's cries. In some way, Mephiles wasn't surprised that Rouge was still alive. The amount of poison he had given her was enough to take out any normal, teenage slave, and, if the circumstances allowed for it, kill them as well. But Rouge was a fighter, and even though she was slightly malnourished and bleeding, she fought through the drug Mephiles had given her just like she fought through everything else he had done to her in the past. The poison attacked the immune system of the victim, so if Mephiles sought any consolation, at least Rouge would be deathly sick because of the liquid. But… there was no denying that she was, indeed, _alive._

Rouge continued to scream, her cries becoming louder and more desperate when no one answered her. Mephiles wondered how on Mobius she managed to free herself of the gag he tied around her mouth, and the binds he tied around her wrists. Shadow however, enjoyed the screams, too busy relishing the fact that Rouge was alive to actually answer her. The darker hedgehog's eyes expressed his defeat and wonder at how badly he failed to elude the red and black one. His lie was out in the open now, clear as day, and Shadow grinned almost evilly at Mephiles' sorrowful expression. As Mephiles became more and more heartbroken and angry with himself, Shadow filled up with newfound strength, that, in retrospect, he probably imagined. There was no way his body could conjure up enough Chaos that quickly after his Super Formation, but nonetheless Shadow felt empowered and strong, these feelings no doubt the result of hearing Rouge again. Her voice, knowing that she was alive, knowing that Mephiles had lied about everything, knowing that he was right all along, gave him strength. And most of all, his love for Rouge, and her love for him, gave him a feeling that only Maria could give him, a feeling of being cared for and wanted by someone so beautiful and innocent gave him the feeling of conquering the world. He had locked Rouge away in his heart the minute he found her in that alley, only just realizing it now. To know that he wouldn't have to replace the image of her alive and well in his heart, with an image of her dead and gone, gave him every inch of power that he could achieve.

And as Shadow sucked up that lovely power, Mephiles was losing whatever strength he might have had before Rouge's intrusion. Defeat was evident in his features, feeling like everything, every tiny thing that he had held onto, was lost and irretrievable. He couldn't stand staring into the hopeful eyes of his counterpart, so he turned toward the trapdoor, seeing the stained wood move slightly every time there was a bang. Rouge was trying to break the door down. She was trying to escape, escape to Shadow. She loved him. It wasn't even worth not believing it. It wasn't worth continuing to lie to himself; anyone could see it. Not once, not a single time, did she ever call for Mephiles. The only word she spoke was "Shadow," as if it was the only word she knew. Feeling the bitter sting of rejection, Mephiles almost accepted the fact that he had lost. Almost. Shadow's happiness still drove him insane with madness, and he still felt the urge to kill him. But now, it was different. Now, it was as if there was no point in killing him. He couldn't have Rouge in the end anyway, so what was the point in killing Shadow? Well, Mephiles never got the chance to find the point. With an evil grin still plastered on his face, and Rouge's voice giving him newfound energy and hope, Shadow couldn't help but ask Mephiles,

"Yeah, she sounds pretty dead, eh Mephiles?"

**XXXXX Warning: The following contains extremely graphic material that some readers may find too gruesome or explicit. PLEASE read at your own risk, as the following is filled with horrific and gory material, and images that may be offensive or sickening. This warning expires after the very next page break.**

In an instant Shadow had Mephiles underneath him, holding him down with his legs. He barred his teeth maniacally as he pushed his hands onto Mephiles' shoulders, forcefully keeping him down with all his might. Angrily Shadow slammed his fist into Mephiles' crystallized throat, the shiny shards stinging his knuckles as Mephiles choked on his smashed windpipe. Shadow growled at the hedgehog below him, hitting his jaw, his cheeks, his entire face, over and over with his bleeding fist, until Mephiles' facial features looked nothing more than a raw piece of meat. Blood covered every part of his face, his cheek bones had been smashed in, and his forehead had split open, a thin line of blood creating a waterfall of the red liquid that ran down his face. Shadow knew all too well that Mephiles had every inch of strength to fight back, but with Rouge being alive, the darker hedgehog was almost in a daze, his mind reeling frantically, desperately trying to figure out what to do next. _Should I kill this hedgehog? What about Rouge? If this hedgehog kills you, he'll take Rouge. He'll take Rouge! No! No one will take my Rouge away! But what do I do?! Do I fight back?! What's the point?! _Mephiles' eyes expressed his panic madly, making Shadow almost fear the darker ones psychotic state. Mephiles was insane before, but Rouges' voice must have torn apart whatever piece of sanity his mind had left. _  
_  
"You liar! You disgusting fucking liar!" Shadow screamed at the top of his lungs. "You knew she was alive! You knew she was in there! What did you do to her?! WHAT DID YOU FUCKING DO TO HER?!" He paused for a moment to allow Mephiles to answer, but the crystal hedgehog was silent, trying to take in the sudden turn of events. Rouge could still be heard in the background, now screaming for help as well as Shadow's name. Her banging became less consistent and less aggressive, making Shadow wonder if she was getting sicker or weaker. Growling he clawed at Mephiles, feeling his razor sharp nail scraping Mephiles' left eye. Mephiles howled in pain, hissing at the one above him. Out of painful impulse he struggled to be free of Shadow's grasp, but Shadow kept him down as much as he could. "What did you do to her?!" Shadow repeated, digging his claws into Mephiles' shoulders. "Tell me or I'll…"

"I drugged her! That's what I fucking did to her! You happy now, hedgehog?! I drugged her! I gave her a poison that would kill her! I gave it to her… because she's my fucking slave! And you will never take her away from me! She's mine, SHE'S MINE, SHE'S MINE!" Mephiles screamed like a small child having a tantrum, except_ his_ screams were insane and bloodcurdling shrieks. If Mephiles had poisoned her, how was she still alive? Shadow decided not to worry about it, it didn't matter. All that mattered was that the poison _didn't_ kill her, and if it decided to kill her slowly and eventually, Shadow would be there before it had the chance.

Because his energy was fleeting Shadow knew he had to make this fast, and as much as he wanted to enjoy killing this demon below him, Rouge's life meant more to him than Mephiles' life did. _**"But I can promise you this, Silver. Your lover, Mephiles, is guaranteed a death… much worse than yours."**_ Oh yes, Shadow was going to make him pay. There was no longer reason to postpone ending this devils' life. He knew where Rouge was, he knew what Mephiles did to her; the only piece of the puzzle left was to exact his revenge on the darker one for taking Rouge from him. Murdering this bastard was like a bomb waiting to go off the moment Shadow stepped into his kitchen and found Rouge gone. Finally, that bomb was about to explode.

Underneath him Mephiles was struggling and writhing, fighting desperately to loosen his counterparts grip on him. Though his lies had been found out, he was not about to give up just yet. He was no longer in a mood to fight with this hedgehog, but he didn't have any other choice. As a last resort he tried biting and spitting at Shadow, but the small acts of rebellion didn't so much as phase the one above him. Still, he remained persistent, clawing and screaming, doing anything in his power to make this hedgehog let go, but Shadow remained on top, even though there was little energy in him to keep this hedgehog down. He needed to act, and act fast if he wanted to see Rouge alive again. In a flash he had Mephiles' arms above his crystal head, holding his wrists together tightly. With great force Shadow twisted his hands backwards, until he felt his counterparts wrists snap in unison, broken. Mephiles screamed, and his struggling became less aggressive and slower. Shadow grabbed Mephiles' elbows, digging his claws into the delicate skin. Keeping a firm grip on the inside of the elbows, he bent them awkwardly, forcing the bones to move in a way they were not supposed to, until they snapped. Again, Mephiles screamed, his arms lying above his head, bent in opposite, awkward ways. All of his struggling ceased, and instead of fighting back he gritted his teeth and growled, as if telling Shadow that he was determined to remain defiant, despite losing the ability to move two of his limbs.

"I know what you're going to do hedgehog," Mephiles told him, spitting some blood out of his mouth. "I know how badly you want to be the hero, how badly you want to defeat the "bad guy" and save your little damsel. But I'll be honest with you, _Shadow_, she'll be dead by the time you get to her. And it will be your fault. Not mine." Shadow wasn't sure if Mephiles was lying or if he was telling the truth, so Shadow told him,

_"Then I better make this quick, hm?"_

"She'll be dead! You'll never have her! **You'll never fucking have her! **"You'll never… have her!" Mephiles screamed. Shadow pressed his claws into the darker ones shoulders, and replied, "I'm sick of hearing your lies, you fucker. I'm sick of dealing with you. You come into my house, have your little cunt try to kill me, take Rouge from me, and lie to me about what you did to her. You sick, crazy, lunatic. I hope you burn for ruining those girls' lives. You know, Rouge told me everything about you; she told me about what you did to her, how you hurt her. Did you like making her life miserable? Did you enjoy that sense of power you had over her? I bet you loved beating her, raping her, calling her 'slut' or 'bitch.' Did you enjoy putting her through such hell?"

Mephiles was about to say something, but Shadow swiped his claws against his muzzle and silenced him. "Don't fucking talk, you bastard. I'm sick of hearing you speak, I'm sick of hearing your voice. And most of all, I'm sick of hearing your fucking lies!" And with that Shadow scraped his claws against the darker ones muzzle, creating deep, red lines across his non-existent mouth. Because Mephiles' arms were broken, Shadow let go of his shoulders and used both of his paws to claw at the older one's muzzle, until bits of skin as well as crystal were starting to peel off. He clawed and scraped, blood gushing out onto his face, his hands becoming slippery. Bones belonging to Mephiles' jaw were starting to show, small pieces of skin, muscle tissue and veins still connected to them. He tore at everything until Mephiles' muzzle was blood-stained bone, the only exception being his gums which were attached to his sharp teeth which belonged to a mouth that was hidden behind Mephiles' muzzle. Angrily, Shadow slammed the side of his fist into Mephiles' mouth, forcefully breaking his teeth away from his gums, being careful to grab the teeth that fell out so Mephiles would not choke on them. He wanted this devil to feel every inch of pain possible, and dying prematurely was not an option. Mephiles screamed until his lungs were burnt, seeing most of his teeth now lying on the floor, covered with blood, along with parts of his muzzle and many shards of crystal.

When Shadow was done with his mouth, he moved upward and searched frantically for anything he could do to make Mephiles suffer. The first thing he saw were Mephiles' ears, so he grabbed the left ear and yanked it off, making Mephiles howl in pain. He left his right ear, because he wanted Mephiles to hear Rouge's screaming. He wanted him to hear Rouge scream her heart out until his very last breath. Shadow searched for something else to use, landing on Mephiles' eyes. His piercing, ugly, red-purple eyes that stared into your soul. Shadow grabbed the eyelids of Mephiles' right eye, and tore them clean off. Then, he grabbed the eyelid-less eye and attached his claws to it, and slowly pulled it out, throwing it to the side. He left Mephiles only one eye, as he did with his ear, because he wanted Mephiles to see everything Shadow was about to do to him. Mephiles screamed, the painful cry filled with suffering and agony, but Shadow was not done yet. He wanted Mephiles to feel the pain he caused Rouge, and Blaze, and this was the only way to make him feel it.

"I hope you burn in hell for what you did, you delusional, psychotic fucker," Shadow told him. "I want you to feel what you did to those poor girls. You feel this?! You feel all of this?! This is what they felt when you whipped them! They felt this when you raped them! All of your tortures felt like this to them! Now you're feeling it! Now you know how it feels!" He could see that Mephiles was slowly losing consciousness, so he sped up his actions. Scrambling, he looked around the room to see what else he could use, and his eyes eventually found Silvers' knife. The knife that he had used to kill the white hedgehog; he almost forgot about it. Taking it he dug the tip into Mephiles' chest, running the tip down his torso until he reached Mephiles' groin. "You liked raping them, didn't you Mephiles!?" Shadow asked angrily, almost screaming at him. "You liked that kind of power, huh!?" Taking the knife out of his chest, he positioned it in his left hand, and quickly he reached in between Mephiles' thighs until he found the darker one's penis. To his disgust, it was still semi-hard from when Mephiles tried to rape him. Taking it in his hand he put the knife toward the base of the penis and sliced it clean off, throwing it to the side. This act earned a shriek from the now half-dead Mephiles, the extreme amount of blood he was losing and the amount of pain he was in was making him shake and convulse as if his body was having a seizure. Shadow did the same to the crazy hedgehogs' testicles, and chided, "That's what Rouge and Blaze felt every time you raped them! Fucking hurts, doesn't it!?" Mephiles replied quietly, "She'll be dead… dead…" He was slowly losing his mind, his life slowly leaving him. But Shadow was not done yet.

"Rouge… is mine…" Mephiles choked out, each movement of his muzzle creating spills of blood. The muscle tissue of his mutilated face was tearing off, his veins cut open and dripping blood that landed in a pool underneath the dark hedgehog. To Shadow, Mephiles' face looked like something out of a horror movie. The hole where his eye once was, his bleeding, broken facial features, and the blood and the bones of his face were so terrifying, Shadow frequently closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to look at the gory sight that he created. He felt bile rise up in his stomach, but he held it down and forced himself to continue before it was too late. He promised Rouge, and himself, that Mephiles would pay for his actions, and he was not about to waste the moment this close to fulfilling that promise. Menacingly he took the knife and ran it down Mephiles' legs, until the tip of the knife hit the bones inside. Blood poured out of the hedgehogs loins, seeping its way underneath Shadow's knees. Shadow ignored all the blood, and started stabbing Mephiles' entire body, trying to hit any and every place possible, except for his upper chest. He saved his torso for the very last. In his insane fury Shadow could hear the hedgehog below him chanting, "Rouge… will… a-always, b-b-be mi-ine…She'll be-e d-de-ead w-when… y-you g-get to her…"

Stopping his actions slowly, Shadow leaned into Mephiles' face, and whispered, "Mephiles, Rouge was **never** yours. She will never be **anyone's** anymore. She will be her own person, like she deserves. Never again will she be forced to serve anyone or anything. All your life you treated her like she was nothing but a **slave**. Until the day I die I will make sure that never happens to her again. She is a beautiful, caring, sweet young woman, who deserves nothing but the best in life. How she ended up with a careless, horrible, depraved monster like you is simply beyond my comprehension. She deserves better than you, better than Silver. She deserves a _man_, **not a master**, who will treat her with respect and cherish and love her forever." The unadulterated sincerity in his voice almost made him cry. He had been dying to say that for the longest time, and even if he didn't prove to be the man he spoke of for Rouge, he would never regret saying it. Looking down at the tortured being he destroyed, he made a promise to himself: **Don't regret any of this.** No matter what happens in the future, he knew and would always know that what he was doing was the right thing.

Shadow took the knife carefully in his palm, and gingerly he pierced the left side of Mephiles' chest. He tore open the muscle and skin and continued piercing and cutting until he found the demon's heart, covered in blood and guts. The sight of seeing a being's heart beating and moving eerily made Shadow even sicker than he already was. It pumped frantically, as if it already knew that the body it was inside was dying. Grimacing, Shadow pulled the heart out, carelessly tearing away veins and tissue attached to it. Feeling the heart beating in his hands was too much for Shadow to handle, and without warning he vomited, a small amount of bile landing in Mephiles' open chest. But he kept a grip on the still beating heart, its pump slowing and becoming less steady. He forced himself to say, "You see this, Mephiles? You see it?! You wasted your heart, Mephiles. You could've treated Rouge with love and kindness. You two could've been together forever, happily. But instead, you decided to treat her like garbage. You were mean to her, hurt her, and ruined her life. You didn't love her. You didn't care about her at all. You wasted whatever love she might have showed you, and in turn, you wasted your own love, your own heart. You could care less about this little organ, couldn't you?! It means nothing to you! You don't care about love at all! All you care about is power and dominance! Love means nothing to you!" In his anger Shadow threw the bloody organ away from him, and it landed in a dark corner, no longer beating. Shadow knew that it wouldn't be long now.

Sadistically, making sure his voice had a sense of finality to it, he whispered to the dying Mephiles, "I promised that your death would be much worse than Silver's. And, for once in my life, I feel like I fulfilled my promise. You don't deserve to see the light of day again, Mephiles. You don't deserve to walk on this planet. Men like you deserve the most cruel and painful punishment possible. And in all honesty, I think death is too good for you. I hope you spend eternity rotting in hell, feeling the pain you gave those two beautiful girls. I'm not going to deliver the last blow, Mephiles. Instead, I'm going to let you die on your own, slowly and painfully. It's the least I could do for you. You see, I'm not a monster, like you. Sure, I'm fucked up in the head, I have reason to be, but I'm not completely psychotic like you. _At least I let you die with some dignity."_ Shadow let the knife fall from his hand, and took in the sight of Mephiles dying. His open chest was heaving up and down, but the gasps were futile and slowly, Mephiles slipped into death. There were no lasts words, no glances toward Shadow or the trapdoor which held his former slave. The blood continued to spill, the pain that Shadow had caused him unimaginable. The putrid smell of decaying guts and body parts filled the air, giving the room an aroma of blood, sweat, vomit and dirt. Shadow looked away from the partially lifeless body of the demon hedgehog, trying to prevent an everlasting image of gore and mutilation from branding itself in his mind. As much as he despised the hedgehog, he didn't want this to be his last vision of Mephiles, so he turned around, still on his knees, and listened to the groans and sobs of his victim. When the moans and sobs stopped, Shadow felt his heart do a flip. He snuck a peek behind him but turned his head back around when he saw a glimpse of a chest still heaving up and down. He closed his eyes tightly and mentally tried to speed up the process.

Obviously, no living being can live for more than seconds without a heart. But somehow, Mephiles managed to live without one his entire life.

**XXXXX**

_"Rouge!"_ Shadow screamed, having finally snapped out of his murdering craze, and ran to the trapdoor in a flash. Rouge was no longer banging on it, nor did she answer him. Panicking, Shadow put an ear to the door and could faintly hear Rouge crying. He screamed again at the top of his lungs, "Rouge, it's me! Rouge!" and to his relief, she answered back, "Shadow?!" Hearing his name made him cry, flooding him with overwhelming happiness and joy. "Rouge, don't worry! I'll get you out of there!" He frantically starting banging on the door, even though he knew it would take a miracle to open it. But that didn't stop him; knowing that Rouge was still alive drove him to perform the most impossible of tasks. He would do absolutely anything to get to her. He felt his fingers growing numb, a couple of them now broken and twisted in wrong ways, but he ignored it. Broken fingers could be fixed, death couldn't. He smashed and pounded and even kicked the door harder than anything he had ever destroyed in the past, and all the while Rouge screamed, "Shadow, you're alive! Thank God, you're alive!"

Eventually, he damaged enough of the trap door to create a small, thin crack in the middle of it. Looking through it he could see Rouge's face, tear stained and bleeding, but smiling brightly. Banging his fists against the crack he made he opened it enough for him to slip his hand through. Rouge reached up and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly. Both of them had yearned for that trivial touch for so long, they wished it would last forever. Looking through the gap in the door they could see each other's faces clearly now, both of them smiling and crying.

Having used all of his energy, Shadow couldn't find the strength to break anymore of the door open, but holding Rouge's hand was enough reward for him. "Rouge, I'm so sorry," he cried softly, "I'm so sorry for letting this happen. This is all my fault, I let him take you away. I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Shadow couldn't stop the flow of tears falling from his face, the terrible regret and guilt now swarming into him, his hand groping Rouge's hand tighter. His apologies spewed out of him like a stream, his giant sobs making his words sound choppy and mumbled. The tears fell into the crack of the trapdoor, his incredible sadness and remorse making Rouge's heart ache. "Shadow, please don't cry," she said quietly. "None of this is your fault. I don't blame you. I never blamed you." Hearing this only made him cry more, but some of his tears were mixed with happiness now. He locked his fingers between hers, and for merely seconds they stayed that way, holding each others hand and staring into each others eyes, the world around them coming to a halt.

"Where's Blaze?" Rouge asked shakily, afraid to hear the answer. Shadow didn't know what to tell her. The purple cat was still unconscious, lying in a heap on the floor. He couldn't bring himself to touch her body, fearing that he wouldn't find a pulse. So he said, "She's here. But she's hurt badly. We have to get her help." Rouge knew that he wasn't telling her everything, so she asked, "Where's…" Shadow knew what she was about to ask, so he interrupted her. Instead of telling her what he did, he gave her a look that explained everything to her. She gave a look back, telling him that she understood. "Silver's dead," he told her, as it was much easier to say this than say what he did to Mephiles. Rouge didn't say anything, but instead coughed loudly, as if she was choking. Her grip on his hand loosened, and Shadow gasped as she almost fell back, leaning on a wall of the small hole she was in. He grabbed her hand again, tightly, fearing that she might be sick. "Rouge! Rouge please hang on, I'll get you out of there, just please stay with me!" Frantically he searched for a way out, the only exit being the hole in the wall that he created with his Chaos Blast. But before any escape could be made, he had to get Rouge out of the trap door first.

"Rouge, I need to open this door! How do you open it?!" There was no way he could break the entire door by himself, at least not without breaking every bone in his arms and hands first. The wood was too strong, and there wasn't enough strength in him to even attempt it. He would have to use a key to open it, but he didn't know where one would be. "Rouge, is there a key to this door?!"

"There should be (cough) one in that desk over there (cough.)" Her voice was strained and now painful to listen to_. The poison Mephiles gave her must be affecting her_, Shadow thought. He quickly ran to the small desk which was shrouded in darkness, and threw open every drawer, but he didn't find the key. He even looked on Mephiles, but he still found nothing. Going back to Rouge he said, "I can't find it! Is that the only way to open the door?!" "It's the only way (cough) I know of!" she told him, now holding her stomach as if she was about to vomit. "Please Shadow hurry!" He didn't know what else to do. He couldn't perform a Chaos Blast because the impact may hurt or even kill Rouge. But what about a Chaos Control? He felt like he had enough Chaos Energy in him to pull it off, and he still had his own Chaos Emerald with him. But he was hesitant to perform one. The impact could still severely hurt Rouge, especially in her condition. But he knew he had to try, no matter the risk. "Okay, Rouge, I'm going to perform a Chaos Control. It's going to send us home. But you have to hold my hand and don't let go, not for an instant! You keep a grip on me until I say so, alright?"

"Okay," she told him, reaching up for his hand. Since she never witnessed a Chaos Control before, he was worried that Rouge might be injured from the force of Chaos Energy. Blaze could be hurt too, and there was no way to lessen the impact of his Energy and the Energy of the Chaos Emeralds, thus their name being "Chaos." It would be a huge impact on the girls considering they were both very small and weak, and new to the feeling, unlike Shadow, who was no longer phased by the Chaos Control. Even with that in mind, he knew there was no other way except the Chaos Control. Of course, he didn't tell Rouge that it might hurt her, or even kill her. If he had told her, no amount of force would have made him perform it in the end. So instead, he told her, "Rouge?"

"Yes?" she asked, gripping his hand tightly.

"…I love you, Rouge."

"… I… I love you too, Shadow."

Looking back, more should have been said. A _lot_ more should have been said. But neither of them needed to say anymore. No amount of any other words would change that moment for them. They were content with the four words they had. The gap in the trapdoor was too small for Shadow to put his head through, so instead of kissing Rouge's lips, he kissed her hand gently. She kissed his, and that small moment of uninterrupted and surreal love locked itself away in both of their hearts. They would remember it forever.

Taking the Chaos Emerald in his hand, he reached over to Blaze, closing his eyes slightly as if doing so would prevent him from feeling her cold skin. Silently he prayed that she was still alive. He wrapped his arm softly around her torso and held her close to him, the green glow of the Chaos Emerald illuminating her face. With Rouge's hand in his, he closed his eyes and quietly, he said,

_"Chaos Control!"  
_  
**XXXXX **

**Yay! Chapter 31 is finally here! It's the chapter everyone has been waiting for, and I'm sorry it took such a long time. I hope you enjoyed reading it, and please review! I would love to see what you have to say about this chapter!**

There's only one more chapter to go, and then that will be it! I'm hoping to get it done before the year is out, so please look forward to it! And again, thanks to the readers you have created beautiful FanArt for this story; your work is greatly appreciated! If any reader chooses to draw FanArt for this story or any of my stories, you are always welcome to, and your work will be showcased on my DeviantArt page! Thank you! 


	33. Chapter 33

**Warning: This chapter contains multiple lemons as well as sexual themes and material. Nothing gruesome or graphic, please read at your own risk. **

**Final Chapter (Part 1). Please enjoy and thanks for reading everyone!**

**Chapter 32 Love Heals **

The chilly September wind tapped against the windows. Mobius summers never lasted long, and by the end of September the weather usually took a cold turn into the 40s and 50s. Still, the frosty air could not freeze the intense heat spreading throughout a certain small town.

"Did you hear what that hedgehog did? He killed two masters!"

"That fucker! How horrible! He should be euthanized!"

"They should give him the chair! They better find him guilty! What sick mind would do that to two of our very own masters?!"

"Hey, they just announced the verdict! That hedgehog's innocent! He's innocent!"

"Innocent?!" "No way!" "You're joking!" "He can't be!" "He can't be innocent!"

**XXXXX**

"Breaking News here on MCN, Mobius City News, Mobius' own master, Shadow Hedgehog was found _not guilty_today in the murders of masters Mephiles Hedgehog and Silver Hedgehog. The jury stated that although he plead guilty for the two murders they found that enough evidence was given to show that his murders were out of self-defense for the protection of himself and of two female slaves. The jury also states that Mephiles Hedgehog and Silver Hedgehog were later found guilty for illegal treatment of their two female slaves. This treatment consisted of drug abuse, corporal punishment abuse, sexual abuse and domestic abuse, which took place over a span of ten years. Slaves were not given compensation because both of them are still alive; if this treatment had killed them, investigators say, compensation would have been given. Shadow Hedgehog has been released and he and his two slaves, who turn out to be the two slaves of Mephiles and Silver, have been escorted back to their home. When asked how he feels about his verdict, Shadow Hedgehog replied, "No comment." This is Manic Hedgehog reporting live for MCN news."

This same information ran on almost every channel for weeks on end. The news was slapped onto newspapers and magazines and internet sites all throughout Mobius. It was all everyone was talking about. When word had got out that a murdering of two masters had occurred, it was merely hours before Shadow was found out, arrested, and taken to prison. Rouge and Blaze were taken into custody as well, treated for their wounds, and held in a special "slave-cell" while their master was being interrogated. Of course, Shadow expected the police to find him out; news traveled like wildfire around Mobius, and there was no other option except to sit and wait for the authorities. There was no way he could escape town with the two girls in tow, anyway. How they found out that Shadow did it, he will never know, but thank goodness for his anticipation. Upon returning home from the Chaos Control, with all three of them unharmed, Shadow quickly bandaged any major cuts and scrapes the three of them had. He also cut up a belt of his and made it into make-shift collars for Rouge and Blaze, the latter of whom eventually regained consciousness, but was still terribly injured. He even brought out his paperwork for owning Rouge, because he knew that the girls would be questioned as to who was their master. Luckily, the cops bought the act, and the three of them were taken from the home and to the hospital. And then to prison.

During his time in prison he had absolutely no contact with Rouge and Blaze. It was excruciating for him. Every day he begged to see them, talk to them, but he was not allowed to. He was told that they were being held safely, being fed and bathed, and receiving treatment for their injuries. He hated the way the prison guards talked about his "slaves"; most of the time they didn't even use their names, they just said the "white slave" or the "purple slave." Until he was released on an innocent account Shadow had no choice but to trust everything the guards told him. Soon after their arrival in prison the guards told him that Blaze was unconscious again and they thought for sure that this time she would die. They refused to take her to the hospital because she was such a lowly slave, and instead kept her in her and Rouges' slave-cell for two days before finally, they gave in and sent her off to get expert help. During those two days they had to confine Shadow with binds and even a gag because if they had not, he would have broken out of his cell and taken Blaze to the hospital himself. Shadow guessed that not too many Masters begged to get their slaves help while they were in here. He was probably the first and only Master to care so much about his supposed slave.

Anyway, the gash on Blazes' forehead had done incredible damage but luckily it was nothing the Mobius doctors could not handle. Simple surgeries and some medicine fixed Blaze up just fine. The only problem was that Shadow had to beg for them to operate on her, otherwise they would have euthanized the dying slave. When they finally agreed to operate, Shadow prayed every ten minutes that they would not operate on her badly because she was a slave. When they said the operations were successful and she could be released in several weeks after she recovered, it was one of the happiest moments for Shadow.

As for Rouge, not much was said about her during their time apart. Shadow found himself crying to sleep at nights because he knew how scared Rouge must have been without him. When he asked the guards about her, they usually said she was fine, healthy, and most importantly, _alive._One time the guards told Shadow, "She said she loves you. She wanted us to tell you that." Shadow smiled. "She asked you guys to tell me that?" He knew that slaves were not allowed to talk to prison guards without permission, and the last thing these guys would give a slave was permission. "Yeah, she asked if we could relay that back to you, and we told her we would…"

Shadow smiled again, almost laughing at how happy he was.

"…After we whipped her for speaking without permission."

And the smile faded as quickly as it came. And let's just say that after that day, those two prison guards were no longer in charge of Shadow: they suffered fifty broken bones each, not including three broken ribs and a broken collarbone on one, and a fractured skull on the other, due to a very special Chaos Blast by a very special hedgehog.

As for the trials, they went pretty smoothly. In the new "Master and slave" Mobius, courts usually went easy on Masters that were tried, even if that Master had killed another Master. If a slave had killed a Master (or killed a slave, it didn't really matter) the slave would be killed without a trial. They wouldn't even be given a chance. But luckily, Shadow was a Master, and he plead guilty, knowing that the jury would go easier on him, almost pity him, if you will, if he said he was guilty. See, he had been planning this since the moment he killed Silver, because it was inevitable. It was all part of his strategy.

During his questioning he was cool and calm. Because he murdered two Masters, he was not given a lawyer, which was pretty common in Mobius. He stood for himself, and he stood for Rouge and Blaze as well, since no one so much as _looked _the slaves' way during the trials. He gave his story, Rouge's story really, about the illegal use of the two slaves. He also gave a sob story about how he defended himself against Mephiles and Silver, which was actually true, but the sob story made it so much more believable to the jury. With evidence brought from Mephiles' and Silvers' houses, the jury was convinced that there was illegal treatment afoot. Normally, Masters wouldn't care about bad or even immoral treatment of slaves, but in a court trial involving such, especially a televised trial that was broadcasted live throughout Mobius, Masters knew that they had to keep up their perfect appearance, so miraculously, illegal slave treatment was a _bad_thing, and Shadow was found innocent.

In Mobius, it was that simple. And thankfully, Shadow _knew_that it was that simple.

**XXXXX**

After the court trials, the news was still on his case for weeks, prying out every last gory detail about his murders. Despite the information given from the trial, Mobius reporters often stalked those found innocent in a court trial, trying to get any and every juicy piece of info they could squeeze out of the person. After a while, Shadow gave up trying to remain silent; it was easier to just spill everything to the press, and he hoped that they would get off his back once he gave them what they wanted. The words he spoke about his killings had no weight on them, no hint of remorse or anger. They just felt very numb to him, as if they were tiny tufts of clouds coming out of his mouth. They were so light, so easy, so simple. If only the reactions of the townspeople were the same way.

When Shadow and Rouge were released and given their lives back, they journeyed home and begrudgingly welcomed the long, long road ahead of them. The impact of the last few weeks came like a slow, dreadful hurricane that blew the three of them away. They were overcome with so many different and torturous emotions that after the interviews and court trials, none of them actually spoke to each other outside of saying "Hello" and "I'm fine." Shadow found that saying anything more would be too painful to pronounce, so he usually kept his mouth shut. He knew that the damage done to all three of them could never be erased, and its effects could not be overlooked, but he was determined to make it work. So far, things were going…okay… and life was as normal as Shadow could make it.

One day he walked to his room to see what Rouge was up to. Besides sleeping or eating, she usually just sat on his bed and stared at the wall. Shadow tried to get her to do something fun and productive, but every time he asked she shook her head at him and didn't say anything. Passing the still blood-stained walls of his living room he wondered if things would ever go back to the way they were. Things weren't exactly perfect before, but they were much better than this.

Instead of meeting her in his room, they bumped into each other in the hallway. "How are you feeling?" Shadow asked her, already aware of what she was going to say. "Fine," she told him quickly. She brushed past him and sat down on the living room couch, noticing a newspaper on the end table beside the couch. The front page had a small picture of them on it, with the words "HEDGEHOG FOUND INNOCENT FOR MURDERS OF TWO MASTERS." The news may have been a few weeks old, but with stories regarding Masters, especially stories about murdering not one, but _two _Masters, the Mobius papers would run the same article for weeks. Rouge put the paper aside.

"They're still talking about us…" she stated in disgust. Shadow scoffed, "Well of course they are; we're goddamn famous now." The last thing Shadow wanted for either of them was to have their names blackened in the town. Now, everywhere they went, Masters shot them a deathly glare, wishing so badly that they could tear Shadow's neck apart. Most Masters in Mobius were proud of their high status in society, and they liked to keep their cherished title clean and perfect. But when one of them dared to tarnish their aristocracy, especially when done so as horribly as Shadow did, it took years before that person would be forgiven. Some Masters, a select few that had not been brainwashed by society, understood what Shadow did and why he did it, and they forgave him. But those few Masters who had the sense to not be biased for themselves were trampled by the thousands of Masters who wanted Shadow's blood. Slaves on the other hand congratulated and celebrated Shadow's actions. Of course, they did not speak a word of it to anyone, but he could see in their eyes that they were grateful for what he did.

"A lot of people hate you now," Rouge told him. "You're like a menace to society. One of the articles I read said you should be exiled. Another one said you should be burned alive."

"I think I read that second one," Shadow joked. He didn't really, but he didn't need to. _Every_ article said that he should be burned alive. Not one article stood in favor of what he did. "It's hard to know that so many people want you dead," he told her. "What are you going to do?" she asked. He replied casually, "Nothing. People already hated me before all of this; it's just that now they have a _reason_ to hate me. And a pretty good reason at that." He turned toward her and said, "I'm just… surprised that _you_don't hate me."

She stared at him in disbelief. "What do you mean? Why in the world would I hate you for what you did?" He sighed. "Well, I _did _kill your master. I mean, I know how horrible he treated you, and I know you wanted me to do it, but don't you feel kind of sad that he's gone? He _was_your provider for a long time in your life…And you did tell me that you loved him at one point. Don't you feel bad that I took him from you? Silver too?" She took a long time to answer. The right words just wouldn't form into sentences in her head. "When you say it like that, yeah, I do kind of miss him. I guess a small part of me always will miss him. But I'm not mad at you. I'm glad that you did what you did, and I'm glad that I miss him. If that makes any sense."

Shadow smiled softly. "I think it makes perfect sense."

"It's just…"

"It's just hard to accept?" he asked. She nodded. He was ecstatic to have her actually talking to him; it was the most she, well, both of them for that matter, had said to each other in weeks. With so many cameras and microphones and people begging Shadow to say something about his murders, there was so little time to have a small conversation with Rouge. Neither of them had mentioned Mephiles or Silver since that day, and in a way it was for the better. He wanted Rouge to forget as much as she could about them, and the same went for Blaze. But that was asking for a God-given miracle, and Shadow didn't get too many miracles in his life.

Out of nowhere Rouge started to cry soft little tears that rolled down her bruised cheeks. "What's the matter?" Shadow asked her, wrapping his sore arms around her shaking body. "I feel… so confused!" she sobbed. "You're right, I should be mad that you killed them. But I'm not mad. I'm happy you killed them, but I shouldn't be happy. It isn't right to be happy, is it?!" She carelessly let her tears fall from her eyes, grabbing onto Shadow tightly. "I dreamed of wanting them dead. For years I dreamed that they would die, that one day I would wake up and they would be dead. But now that they _are_dead, I feel so… so weird! I don't know what to feel anymore! I don't know what emotion I should choose to feel anymore! I'm just so confused about everything!" She looked up at Shadow's face, desperately waiting for an answer that might make some sense to her.

But Shadow wasn't sure of what to say. "I'm sorry. It's my fault. I confused you." He kissed her forehead gently. "But don't hate yourself for what you're feeling. I feel the same way too. I was so eager to kill those bastards, I wasn't even thinking of emotions at the time. If you would have told me that I would feel remorse for killing them, I would have laughed at you. But now… now is different. It's like I'm forcing myself to be happy about what I did."

"You're not happy?"

"I don't know _what _I am anymore."

She laughed, making him laugh. Their laughter wasn't cheerful or happy, but they felt so good inside after they laughed with each other. He kissed her again, this time on her cheek, brushing some tears away from her face. Her face was so beautiful to him, that he felt it would be a sin to damage it with tears. They laughed some more. "We're just a confused pair of assholes, aren't we?" he joked. This made her tears stop. "I guess we are," she said. "I guess we belong together."

"We belong together _in an asylum _maybe," he said. They laughed hysterically. He loved hearing Rouge laugh. It was almost a rarity to hear her laugh. Her voice was so sweet and gentle, and her smile was just, so beautiful. He never wanted to stop looking at her sweet, yet bruised and scarred, face. When she calmed down, he wrapped his arm around her neck, saying, "Rouge you are so beautiful. I can't believe that anyone would want to hurt such a gorgeous woman." He could see a light blush rising on her cheeks, but the blush wasn't out of embarrassment of his compliments. Her face had an expression of shame and sadness.

"I'm not beautiful," she said softly. "I may have been, at one time, but I'm not anymore."

"Don't say that," Shadow told her.

"But it's true!" she retorted. She forcefully threw his arm off of her and looked away from him. "I've got a bloody scar on almost every inch of my body. My face is marked and bruised. My skin is torn; my wounds are constantly opening up. I cry all the time, sometimes I don't even know why I'm crying! My fur is stained, and no matter how many times I wash it and scrub it I can still see the marks they put on my body! I'm so fucking ugly!" She turned to him, her face contorted in anger. "And I hate it when you say those nice things about me! I'm _not_beautiful!"

Seeing Rouge in this state almost made Shadow cry. She was seldom truly angry with him, but when she did argue with him, Shadow felt his insides burn. He wanted to reach out and hold her but he was afraid she might back away from him. "Rouge, who cares about some scars or bruises? I've got scars and bruises on my body too, and some of those marks may never fade. But you have to learn to forget that they're there. Otherwise you'll spend the rest of your life hating yourself over some silly wounds."

She sighed deeply, taking a moment to let his words sink in. He gingerly reached for her hand and held it in his. He felt a small scar on her palm. It was almost healed completely, but the faint line it made on her skin could still be seen. He told her, "I think scars are like a bad memory: at the time they happen, they hurt like hell. A wound and an event in your life can leave a lasting impression. But overtime, you start to forget. You forget about the incident, and it becomes a faint memory in your mind. You forget about the wound, and it starts to heal, becoming a scar." She looked at him, her blue eyes seeping into his red ones. "You say the most beautiful things," she said. "I wish _I _could think of stuff like that." She scooted closer to him and rested her head on his chest, grabbing his arms and putting them around her body again. "You should be a poet," she told him.

"A poet? Me?" he giggled.

"Yeah," she answered. "That was very _poetic._"

"No, that was very _pathetic,_" he said. They giggled some more. "I'm just glad you're happy," he said with a sigh of relief. "I don't ever want to see you mad. You're too sweet to be mad." He kissed the top of her head, snuggling her body closer to his. She turned her head up so she could kiss his lips. Wrapping her arms around his neck she pulled away from his lips and pecked his cheeks carefully, her soft lips tickling his muzzle. Their eyes met more than once, all four red and blue pools filled with love and passion. This time it was Shadow who brought their lips together, gently sliding his tongue through their interlocked lips. Rouge didn't reject his entrance, enjoying his sensual touch too much to even think about backing away or stopping altogether. When their lungs needed air, their lips parted, and they panted, never breaking the gaze between their eyes. Shadow wondered if Rouge was enjoying this as much as he was, because he was in _heaven._

Bringing their faces closer for another lingering kiss, Shadow slowly placed Rouge on her back on the couch. He carefully situated himself on top of her, breaking the kiss so he could playfully lick and caress her cheeks and neck. She giggled quietly, reaching up from time to time to kiss him. As was in his nature, Shadow took complete control of their love session, and Rouge submissively allowed him to. He guessed that it was a small piece of slave-like submission that never actually left her. She lay beneath him, moaning and giggling sweetly, enjoying his gentle pecks and pokes at her body. When he kissed her neck, it felt strange to not have a collar on while he was kissing her. If she had had one on, his sudden dominance would have made this so much more intimidating for her. She was glad that they weren't assuming the slave and Master relationship. This was the first time that she had made out with someone in this fashion, and she liked it much better when there wasn't a piece of leather labeling her as just a sex toy. Shadow treated her like an actual person; a girlfriend, not a slave, whom he cherished and loved. He was doing this for her more than for himself, and she knew it, and she loved him for it.

However, that feeling of love was challenged when his kisses reached her stomach. During their session she could feel him getting _harder _down there, and she wasn't sure if it was out of genuine love or plain male animal instinct, because he constantly rubbed himself against her body. She knew he was getting excited, she was too, but she didn't think he would go as far as to… _I mean_, she thought, _we didn't go all the way before, so why would we now?_When his smooches continued downward until they were just above her private area, she inhaled sharply out of fear, getting Shadow's attention. He almost gasped when he realized how erect he was; he had been enjoying this so much that he didn't have any comprehension of how he was reacting. Apparently Shadow the Hedgehog didn't have as much control as he thought he did when it came to sexy, beautiful women.

"Rouge, are you okay? You look scared."

"Umm," she said. "Can we stop now?"

"What? Why? Why do you want to stop?" _Uh oh,_ he thought. _This seems all too familiar. I know where this is going._

"I don't want to… you know…" she said quietly, afraid he might get mad. This scene was déjà vu all over again. Just like that one sensual night that happened so long ago, after she had "served him," she stopped before they could have sex. Since that night they have never attempted to do it again. His dominance scared Rouge so badly it brought back memories of Mephiles and Silver raping and torturing her, so he didn't dare lay a sexual hand on her in fear that she might go berserk again. He had almost forgotten about that night, and he definitely wasn't thinking about it until he saw her fear-stricken face. "Please, I don't want to do this. Can't we just stop here? Please?"

Shadow sighed. Not only was he in the mood, but he was also hoping that Rouge had grown out of her fear of having sex with him. Apparently, the memories of those two fuckers were too strong to ignore. Making love would be too painful for her, no matter how gentle and loving Shadow was to her. "Rouge, I love you. I love you more than anything. And I want to share that love with you. You can't be afraid of sex for the rest of your life…"

She started to cry, ashamed at how ridiculous she was being. She knew Shadow wanted to love her in every way possible, and she allowed him to show his love for her in every way except _this _way. She couldn't bring herself to do it, she just couldn't! Her heart wanted so badly to make love to Shadow, but her mind refused to push out the memories of being dominated and raped. Over and over she told herself that Shadow wouldn't be like that. She knew he would be kind, gentle, loving, and caring, and he would make sure that she was enjoying it. He would treat her like a queen, and she wanted to share that love with him more than anything. But it was so hard to do. She shook her head at him and closed her eyes, trying hard to push back her tears.

_Maybe I'm being too quick about this_, Shadow thought. _I should give her time… but I want her so bad. I never felt this way about anyone before. Can't she see that I love her?_He reached up and kissed her. He could almost taste the shame and embarrassment she must have been feeling. "I love you Shadow," she whispered. "I know you're not like them. You wouldn't hurt me or dominate me like they did. I love you… but I can't do this. Not now. I'm sorry Shadow…"

Before he could respond, the phone rang. Jumping up from the couch, while trying to hide his erection, he ran to the kitchen and picked up the phone. Rouge stayed on the couch, sitting up and wiping some tears from her face, all of the passion and love that filled the air moments ago now disappearing. She wiped some sweat of off her forehead in relief that something halted their love making. She could faintly hear his half of the phone conversation: "Hello…this is him…yes…today?...well that's good…oh… oh okay… okay, we'll be there soon…bye." He rushed back to the living room and grabbed his coat and the keys to his motorcycle. "That was the hospital. They say Blaze can be released today. But the doctor says he has something urgent to tell us and we have to get there as soon as possible."

**XXXXX**

The Good Heart Hospital of Mobius was thankfully pretty close to Shadows' house, so the ride to the building took only twenty minutes. Since their release from prison Rouge had rode on Shadows' motorcycle with him and somewhat overcame her fear of it, but that didn't mean it was her vehicle of choice. When they arrived in the parking lot Rouge gasped and almost shouted, "Shadow, my collar!" Since they were now public figures in society, to an extent, Shadow had to keep up appearances and put a collar on Rouge whenever they went out, but in their haste to leave he forgot to do it this time. "What do I do?" Rouge asked him worriedly. Thinking hard Shadow glanced down at his jacket, which was a cross between a blazer and a trench coat, and noticed the belt attached to it that he could tie around his waist. He ripped the belt out of its loops on the jacket and quickly tied it around her neck. It was very uncomfortable, she told him, but at least it looked like a collar.

Inside the building they already knew what floor and room Blaze was in, but because Shadow had a "slave" with him, he had to check in at the front desk. The woman behind the desk, an old, wrinkled, brown fox with glasses, stamped Rouges' hand with a black stamp that stated, "SLAVE" in bold letters. As they walked away from the desk Shadow heard the old lady say in a high-pitch voice, "Slaves should be _leashed _in the hospital, sir." Shadow rolled his eyes and scoffed before walking away with his supposed slave.

Mobius hospitals usually kept slaves in the basement, right next to the morgue, which mostly held dead slaves. As they descended underground Shadow noticed the air getting colder, and the warmth of the upstairs, where the Masters resided in the hospital, left once they reached the slaves' floor. Rouge ran up ahead of Shadow toward Blaze's room, but was stopped by the doctor before she could enter the room. "Slaves are not allowed down here," the doctor said in a gruff voice. He was an old grey hedgehog with few quills left on his head, and you could tell by his demeanor that he did not like slaves. Not wanting to be put down, Rouge said calmly, "I'm here to see my friend. Her doctor said he has something to tell us." She motioned to Shadow who was coming up behind her. Noticing that the black hedgehog was a Master, the doctor's attitude changed a bit too quickly, "Oh, you must be Mr. Shadow! I talked with you on the phone. Your slave is right in here." He gestured to the door and held it open for him. "Thank you; come on Rouge." He walked in but the doctor put his hand up before Rouge could follow him in.

"I'm sorry Sir but your slave _must_stay outside." Shadow crossed his arms and loomed above the old doctor, grateful that he was a few inches taller than the balding hedgehog. "She's not waiting out here," he said plainly. "She's coming in with me." And before the doctor could answer Shadow grabbed Rouge's arm and dragged her in, only to be followed by the now fearful doctor.

Blaze was sitting upright on the hospital "bed," which was actually just an old cot with dirty sheets and a stained pillow, and rusting metal legs and wheels. Her room was tiny and plain, and held only a small, narrow closet, a sink, a bathroom, a small table, and a chair. The only medical equipment was an IV bag and a heart monitor; any other useful equipment slaves might have needed was given to them only if they were at death's door, and even then they had to beg for it. Slaves were treated so poorly in hospitals that most Masters usually kept their sick slaves at home and let them either heal or die there instead of wasting money at a hospital. Shadow, obviously, was not like that, and he had to beg on his knees for any special treatment that was above the norm for hospitalized slaves. The begging paid off, though, and Blaze was healed and healthy, smiling when she saw Rouge, who ran up to her and hugged her tightly. "Blaze are you okay?" she asked. "I'm…fine," Blaze answered softly, trying to avoid eye contact with Shadow. Even though Shadow told her numerous times that he would not treat her like his slave once she returned to his house with him and Rouge, Blaze was still very submissive and obedient toward him. "What did you have to tell us?" Shadow asked the now gagging doctor, who apparently found the site of the two slaves hugging and talking repulsive.

"Well, Mr. Hedgehog, your…slave… has asked that I don't tell you. She wants to tell you herself." Shadow turned to Blaze and suddenly all eyes were on the purple cat. Shamefully Blaze hung her head and whispered something to Rouge, who relayed the message to Shadow, "She says she only wants to tell _me._She doesn't want to tell you, Shadow." Feeling a little miffed, Shadow said curtly, "Fine," and walked out of the room. The doctor followed him into the hallway and closed the door behind him, giving the girls their privacy. The black hedgehog leaned against the wall and wondered what Blaze could be telling Rouge, and why she wouldn't want him to know about it. His thoughts were interrupted when the doctor said to him, "Why are you so nice to them?"

"To who? My slaves? I'm always nice to them…"

The doctor scoffed, looking away from Shadow. "That's kind of silly. I mean, it's not like they have feelings, you know. I've never seen a Master treat his slaves with such benevolence."

_How on Mobius did this guy become a doctor? _Shadow thought. _He's a fucking idiot._

"What I'm wondering is why you didn't just euthanize that purple one. A slave like that you can find anywhere. She's nothing special…" Shadow was about to Spear the living shit out of this lunatic of a doctor, when the door re-opened and Rouge told Shadow to come back in. Shadow slammed the door behind him before the doctor could follow him inside.

"Blaze has to tell you something Shadow," Rouge said. "I thought she only wanted to tell it to you?" Shadow asked coldly. She replied, "I told her that you need to know it too. Besides, she can't hide it forever." She turned to Blaze, shaking her head at Rouge to tell her that she was in no mood to admit her secret to Shadow. Rouge sighed deeply before saying,

"Blaze is pregnant."

Shadow almost choked on his own breath when he heard that news. He wasn't expecting to hear _that._As soon as Rouge told him Blaze started to cry, sitting on the edge of the bed and holding her head in her hands. Rouge ran over and wrapped her arm around her, trying to comfort her. Shadow tried to say something, but he wasn't sure how he should reply. When a slave is pregnant, the mother and the unborn baby are usually both killed. Slaves are useless during their pregnancy, and Masters have no intention of taking care of a baby. If they let the mother take care of the baby, that means more work and/or less sex for the master. And since SlaveHouses don't accept slaves that are pregnant – although some will accept newborn babies – Masters have no other choice but to kill the slave and at most times the child. Now, killing Blaze never crossed Shadow's mind for a second, but taking care of three people, all of them "slaves" nonetheless? He could barely take care of himself without a job, and he doubt anyone would hire a murderer. He was stable for now, but down the road all the money he tried to stash, which wasn't much to begin with, would be sucked up by his two supposed slaves and the new baby.

"Shh, Blaze, don't cry. It's okay. Shadow's not mad at you." Rouge looked up at Shadow as if to prove that her statement was true, but his face was emotionless. He couldn't believe how bad his luck could be. He stiffly walked to the bed and sat down on the other side of Blaze, who fearfully backed away from him, afraid he might beat her for being pregnant. He placed her hand in his. "How far along are you?" he tried to ask gently. "Umm, the doctor said I was three weeks now," she sobbed, trying to remain strong. "I'm, I'm sorry Master Shadow. This is the last thing I wanted to happen. I'm so sorry; please don't get rid of me!" She grabbed onto Rouge tightly, ashamed and scared. "Blaze, Shadow wouldn't do that," Rouge said reassuringly. "I know he wouldn't." She looked up as if to ask him, _Would you?_

Sighing, he replied, "Blaze I won't get rid of you. No one would take you anyway now that you're pregnant. And I'm not mad at you; it isn't your fault. But, a baby… I don't know if I could take care of a baby… I'm already taking care of you two. I'm not sure if I can manage four people living in my house." Rouge gasped, fearfully asking, "Shadow, you're not suggesting we kill the baby, are you?" As horrible as it was, abortions _were _given to slaves in Mobius, but that too was an extreme rarity, and more often than not the mother ended up dying with the baby. Shadow thought that it would be a pretty ideal solution, but he couldn't bring himself to allow an unborn baby to be killed. "No, not at all. I would never allow that. But I'm just afraid that eventually I won't be able to support you guys. I'm already as broke as it is."

Shadow was so torn between what to do that he was almost wishing that money would fall from the sky and solve all of their problems. The girls couldn't get jobs, which they wanted to do, because everyone knew them as slaves. They would have to work somewhere where no one had any idea who they were, which seemed like a fantasy considering they were on television, as was Shadow. Almost everyone in Shadow's town could point them out like a sore thumb. "I'll take care of the baby 24/7 Master Shadow," Blaze said hopefully. "It'll be my responsibility. You'll never have to take care of it." Shadow said sadly, "It's not that I don't _want_ it, it's just that I can't _afford_it…"

Trying to get his mind off of the inevitable bankruptcy clouding his mind, he asked, "Who is the father?" It took a while for Blaze to answer. "Umm, I don't know. It could be either Mephiles or Silver. They both raped me around the same time. Usually they used protection but this time they didn't, apparently."

"Didn't you know they weren't using protection?" Shadow asked.

"I was unconscious when they were screwing me, Master Shadow," Blaze said flatly, almost sarcastically. With a loud couple of knocks on the door everyone's favorite doctor came back into the room, this time with a grin on his face. He examined everyone's hopeless face, and grinned even brighter. "So, I see everyone knows the little secret that's been floating around, hmm?" None of them answered him, but instead growled at him with malicious, glaring eyes. Oblivious to the fact that they wanted him to be dipped in acid, the doctor took out a clipboard and clicked a pen open, and asked, "So, Mr. Shadow, when shall I schedule the abortion and euthanizing of your slave?"

The room went impossibly silent. Ignoring the question, Shadow stood up, grabbed the two girls and the unborn baby, and said to the doctor, "Go fuck yourself."

And as the three of them left the hospital, Shadow marked on his calendar the second broken collarbone and fractured skull he caused in the last several months. Needless to say, no appointments were made after he Speared the doctor to fucking oblivion.


	34. Chapter 34

**Warning: This chapter contains multiple lemons as well as sexual themes and material. Nothing gruesome or graphic, please read at your own risk.**

**Final Chapter (Part 2). Please enjoy and thanks for reading everyone!**

**Chapter 32 Love Heals**

**XXXXX **

No sooner than they got home, Blaze rushed to the bathroom and filled it with the smell of vomit, sweat, tears, blood, and unbelievable shame and regret. Cats were only pregnant for about nine weeks and went through a pretty simple pregnancy, but being anthropomorphic, Blaze experienced half of what a human female felt, including a seemingly endless sickness filled with vomiting and mood swings. Luckily, she did not have to wait nine months the way a human would, but it was still an agonizing nine weeks. Despite her terrible state, Rouge sat by her the entire time, giving her comfort and reassuring words that, when coming from the white bats' sweet voice, could make the nastiest demon in hell change his attitude. Shadow tried to help as best he could, but whenever he came too close to the pregnant cat she hissed at him, not out of hatred of course but more or less out of hormonal instinct, so more often than not he allowed Rouge to take care of her herself.

If Blaze had been a Master, her pregnancy would have been much smoother and nearly painless, since pregnant Masters were given pills that practically erased every symptom of being pregnant. But in order to get those pills for a slave, Shadow would have to cut off his testicles and offer twenty gallons of his own blood, so instead he bought all the painkillers and pregnant books he could get his hands on, and even learned how to massage Blazes' back. Thankfully, after the first couple weeks of pregnancy the symptoms became less frequent and Blaze was feeling well enough to finally sleep in the guest bed by herself (Rouge had been sleeping in the same bed as Blaze to help with her sickness.) Shadow beamed, not only because he was happy for Blaze, but because he was getting lonely in his own bed without Rouge.

Out of sheer gratefulness Blaze frequently fell to her knees in front of Shadow and thanked him by kissing his feet. "Thank you, thank you so much Master Shadow!" she would cry, telling him that she was willing to do anything to repay him for his generosity. Each time she did this, Shadow would tell her to stop, but the "slave" inside of Blaze continued, too thankful to halt her embarrassing actions. Finally, Shadow had enough of the submission Blaze exalted, so he pulled her up from her thanking mode and said sternly, but gently, "Blaze, I don't want any more of that. I tell you this all the time; I'm not your Master! I'm nobodies Master! I hate being called that and I hate when you act like a slave. Please, I don't want you to act like that anymore."

"But Sir… I mean, Shadow, I'm only trying to thank you. Please let me show you how grateful I am!" her words were sincere, and her golden eyes glistened as she pleaded with the older hedgehog. But no amount of submission could change Shadow's attitude.

"I don't need anything from you Blaze; you're under no obligation to thank me that way. You see how I treat Rouge, right? I treat her as a normal person, not a slave. And I want to treat you the same way." He knew this was going to be as hard for her as it was for Rouge, but in the long run she'll benefit from it. Leaving the life you were forced to learn and live is a magic trick in itself, and making it work took time and effort, but he could see Blaze wanted nothing more than to lead a life like this. "Here, maybe this will help," Shadow took her into his room and placed her in front of the full-length mirror. Standing behind her he took her collar and started taking it off, only to have Blaze gasp in fear. "Shadow you can't do that! You-" She understood what he was trying to do, but the reality of actually doing it scared her to death. He slipped the white collar off of her neck and placed it on the nearby dresser. "Doesn't that feel so much better?" he asked. She nodded, taken aback by how different she looked without the confining piece of leather tied around her chaffed neck. Turning toward Shadow she gave him a genuine smile, expressing how thankful she was to him.

"You are the kindest Mast-, _man_, I ever met; probably the only one in existence. Thank you for everything Shadow." This time, instead of kissing his feet, she hugged him, which felt a thousand times better to Shadow.

**XXXXX **

"I'm still worried about her," Rouge sighed, placing her pillow back on Shadow's bed. She had just finished helping Blaze settle for the night before fixing her side of his bed. "I'm glad she's feeling better, but when that baby comes she's going to be half-dead from taking care of it." Shadow nodded in agreement, already dreading the many sleepless nights to come. Even though Blaze promised them both that the baby would be her sole responsibility, Shadow and Rouge knew that all three of them would inevitably have to take turns caring for it. "Don't worry Rouge," he said soothingly, lying down on his bed, "Blaze will be alright, and we'll help raise the baby."

"I know but I can't stop worrying about her, about everything! Sometimes I feel like this is my fault…" He raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "How is Blaze getting pregnant your fault?"

"If I didn't run away from Mephiles, this might not have happened to her," she said curtly and sharply, as if the words hurt her mouth as she said them. She wasn't crying, but her face shown an endless sea of sadness and remorse that Shadow felt she didn't deserve. She was almost too painful to look at. He told her gently, "Rouge, what good is regretting things going to do? _Nothing_is your fault, and I don't want you to think like that anymore. You're only hurting yourself more." He placed his arm around her comfortingly. She scooted closer to him, staring deeply into his eyes, taking in his words as if they were solid gold. "I know I'm acting silly," she said with a forced, small laugh. "I guess I just feel guilty about everything that's happened. I changed Blaze's life, I know I did, and I changed yours too. If you never found me in that alley, I would be dead and your life would still be the same. You'd still have your job, and you wouldn't be a murderer. The hell we're living in is my fault, and you know it."

Her lament sent cold razors into his insides, making him feel just as bad as she felt. He wanted to take every terrible emotion she was feeling and erase them from existence. For so long he's tried to eradicate the regret controlling her mind, but so far he made little progress. After a while he'd run out of ways to help her forget, and it's not like he had that many ways to begin with. "I'd be lying if I denied that, Rouge," he told her honestly. "Yes, you did change everything in my life, but why should those changes be seen as bad? I'm happier now than I've ever been, and you know why?"

"Why?"

He hugged her tightly, nuzzling his face against hers. "Because I have you, and I would never trade you for my old life. Who cares if you changed everything I once had, and who cares if those changes are for better or worse? I have you to show for all my suffering, and you're worth more than my life, Rouge. I love you." His words almost made her melt inside; they filled her up with so much goodness that it was hard to answer him back. "You really are the kindest man I've ever met," she whispered genuinely. "I could say it a million times and it would still be true. And I wouldn't trade you for anything either Shadow. I just wish that I could repay you for everything you've done for me…I feel like I take everything you do for granted. It makes me feel so awful. You know that I appreciate everything you've done for me, right?"

"Of course I do. And you don't have to constantly thank me. I did those things for you because I love you."

What he was saying was true, but Rouge couldn't bring herself to believe it. All her life she was taught and forced to be grateful for any snippet of kindness anyone so rarely gave her, and no amount of "thank you Master" or "this slave does not deserve your kindness Sir" was ever enough for the demons that dominated her. But here was Shadow, a Master that asked for absolutely nothing in return; not sex, not work, not restitution, nothing, and it left Rouge wondering what to do next. This hedgehog deserved thanks, _real _thanks, and she wasn't sure if she could give it, or if he would accept it._ I know I can't repay him for all he's done… but I can _try.

Rolling to the left side of the bed she placed herself on top of him, surprising the sleepy hedgehog. "(Yawn) what are you doing Rouge?" She brought her face close to his, their breath mingling together and their noses touching. "I love you," she whispered, before planting a small kiss on his lips, which was soon turned into a long, passionate kiss. Wrapping her legs around his loins she forced their bodies closer and closer together until no space was between them, the lingering kiss still locking their lips together. Eventually pulling away to breathe, Rouge kissed the hedgehog's face and neck, trying to imitate his lustful actions from earlier. His kisses and licks administered on the couch made her feel sweet and sexy, and she wanted to give the feeling back to him. She playfully licked his cheeks and gently bit his neck, releasing a lustful hiss from the black one. Bringing their mouths together she sloppily slid her tongue between their lips, trying to correctly perform French kissing, but being on the receiving end of the kiss for all her life gave her no prior practice to how it's done. Shadow laughed softly, amused by Rouge's improper movements, and he gave her an encouraging kiss on the cheek.

She moved downward to kiss and bite his collarbone, making the hedgehog moan in delight. Due to many years of consensual and involuntary sex, Rouge knew exactly what spots to hit that would make a man shiver in ecstasy. She wrapped her arms around him and gently ran her nails up his spine, licking just underneath his collarbone and even scraping her fang against his nipple ever so gently, making Shadow groan in absolute bliss. When she reached his lower abdomen, she was prepared for a startled gasp from the hedgehog once he realized that her little session was about to get a lot hotter. But before her actions could continue, he stopped her, knowing that they both had to make one thing clear: "Rouge," he said with hitched breathing, bringing her face to his so he could look in her eyes, "don't do this because you think you have to. I don't need any recompense from you. If you're doing this out of slave-like submission, then I don't want you doing it at all. Be honest with me; I'll stop everything right now if you're forcing yourself to do this. Please be truthful, please."

His words hurt, like they usually did. In all honesty, Rouge wasn't sure why she was doing this anymore. It started out wanting to pay him back, but now, it didn't feel like payback anymore. And knowing that that wasn't what he wanted confused her even further. If she couldn't love him in order to pay him back, what other reason could she tell him?

And then she thought, Why does there need to be a reason?

"Shadow, that's not why I'm doing this; I'm doing this because I love you. I love you so, so much. Please let me show you that love. Please…"

"Are you sure, Rouge? Please don't lie to me…"

"I'm sure," she whispered, and it was enough convincing for the black hedgehog, who allowed her to continue. They kissed, moaning and purring into each other, enjoying the others' taste and touch. _God,_ Rouge thought, _I never felt this way about any man before, not even Mephiles. I love Shadow; I love him so much._ _I love everything about him, and I want to do this for him, not for me._As they continued kissing she slowly started to rub herself against his lower region, earning a smirk from the hedgehog. Leaning downward once more she kissed his stomach, rubbing her hands up and down his thighs, her movements sensual and expertly applied. Reaching his groin she gave a small giggle, happy to see how "excited" her solo actions made the black hedgehog. She gently wrapped her hand around his erect length, stroking it slowly, making Shadow groan and twitch, laughing. Jerking his length she gingerly licked the tip, playfully lapping her tongue around the head. The moaning hedgehog gave an exasperated whine, which Rouge deciphered as "go faster." Taking the whole thing in her mouth she started sucking, bobbing her head up and down as her hand continued to jerk the base of his member. Shadow inhaled sharply, arching his back as his breaths became fewer and farther apart. He had only had a blowjob from Rouge once before, but it was enough to know that she was exceptionally advanced when it came to oral sex. He pulled his arms above his head and bit his bottom lip, his hips bucking forward, almost gyrating, as he moaned in pure elation, his body enveloped in sexual bliss. Shadow was usually able to hold out pretty long and delay his orgasm when he was doing it himself, but when Rouge was doing it for him, he felt himself get hotter and hotter with each second, his body almost numb from the intense pleasure. "Oh fuck Rouge… oh yes… uh, right there…" She was a real pro, and he was practically at her mercy.

She smiled, his sheer happiness making her heart beam. She sped up her movements, moaning against his length to make it vibrate, shoving it deep inside her throat and almost gagging on it, which made Shadow grunt and whimper almost submissively. Unbelievably, Blaze had taught her how to deep-throat (out of her Master's orders, of course) and since then Mephiles forced her to perform it during their sessions for years. She hated it then, but she loved seeing Shadow's reaction to it now. His moans and facial expressions were things that neither of them ever expected the black hedgehog to reflect. Tasting some of his seed on her tongue she knew he couldn't last much longer. "Rouge… oh God… I'm… oh fuck!" She kept his length in her mouth, happily swallowing his cum, which tasted much better than Mephiles' or Silver's. She watched as he came, his face lighting up as his eyes rolled back, a loud whine of ecstasy coming from his lips. She would usually turn her head whenever Mephiles or Silver or even Blaze climaxed, but watching Shadow during his orgasm was so odd, and such a turn on, that she wished she could keep him in that state of delight forever. When his bliss subsided she reached up and kissed him. He tasted his seed on his lips but he didn't care. He whispered, "Thank you." Rouge's eyes widened; it was the first time anyone had ever thanked her for serving them.

Before she could reply Shadow gently grabbed her and placed her on the bed, so now he was on top. Immediately Rouge feared the worst, this scene replaying itself in her mind. He kissed her softly to stop her from speaking, snaking his hand down her body until it reached her opening. Reaching underneath her pants and underwear he placed his fingers just above her pubic hair, and he opened his eyes and stopped their kiss. He looked at her seriously, as if asking with his eyes, "Do you want me to do this? Are you ok with this?" She understood, trusting his words, and with a shaky breath she told him, "Yes, please." He smiled, leaning down and kissing her neck, fondling her breasts with his free hand. He let his fingers slowly creep toward her opening, slipping his middle finger inside, making Rouge groan quietly. He didn't like her extremely soft groan, so he told her, "Moan louder. I want to hear you enjoying yourself. Don't be afraid to be loud. Moan as loud as you want." But Rouge wasn't used to voicing her enjoyment; Mephiles hated hearing her voice during sex, so when he didn't have a gag on her he would tell her to be quiet, and beat her if she wasn't. Moaning was not something she was good at, but for Shadow she would definitely try.

He slowly slid in two more fingers into her opening, trying to get a good feel of how to do it correctly, since it was not something that he had "practiced" before. She was wet, making him hard again and giving him a sexual desire to kiss and lick every part of her sweet, soft body. He made his way down until his face was at her opening, his fingers slowly slipping out of her, earning a disappointed whine from the white bat. His fingers were sticky with her fluids, and it was such a weird feeling on his digits that he couldn't refuse the urge to taste them. She tasted sweet, and somewhat salty, but other than those two tastes the flavor was rather bland. Still, he wanted more of her liquid, and her sexual moans coming from underneath forced him to continue. He kissed right above her private area, his breath trembling out of how nervous he was. This was something he had never done before, and he wanted to do it right. Reaching down he slid his tongue into her opening, and smiled when he heard a loud, delighted moan from Rouge. "Oh! Shadow, oh… yes, please, oh God…!" He continued licking her opening, enjoying her taste too much to stop. He found it pretty easy; weird, and different, but easy.

A satisfied groan from Rouge urged the hedgehog to speed up his actions. His laps became more aggressive, and he used his fingers to open her wider and gently lick her clit, which caused her to practically scream in pleasure. "Shadow… oh God… keep going, please… I'm so close!" Her moans, in contrast to Shadow's gruff and manly groans, were soft and sweet and very, very sexy to Shadow._ But, it's so weird to say things like that,_ Rouge thought. Mephiles would never had let her say that much. Her pleasure meant nothing to him; as long as _he_ felt good, and as long as she was _making_ him feel good, Rouges' enjoyment didn't matter in the slightest to him. But with Shadow, her pleasure was the sole reason he was doing this with her. It made her feel so powerful, which was something she thought she would never say. She was starting to love the attention Shadow gave her. Nobody had ever given her such an exhilarating love session like he did. This type of oral sex, a type where somebody plays with you in order to make you feel good, and not to hurt you, was brand new to her. And she _liked_it.

Her body tightened as she took a deep breath, screaming loudly as she climaxed. Shadow stopped his actions, loving the site of Rouge in orgasm so much he had to stop himselffrom climaxing too. Greedily he licked her opening, swallowing all of her sweet liquid. He crawled back up so he was above her again, both of them smiling in ecstasy. They kissed, both of their cum mixing between their tongues, creating a salty-sweet mixture that neither of them could get enough of. "Thank you," Rouge whispered to him. Shadow laughed, "Anytime." He was about to fall down next to her, when she brought a hand to his chest. He stopped, looking at her questioningly. She looked sad, almost confused, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words or the voice to say it.

"What's the matter?" he asked her.

It took her an extremely long time to answer, and Shadow wasn't one for patience. When she finally did reply, she started quietly, "I… I want you to take me, Shadow." There were tears in her eyes, but Shadow was almost certain that those tears were out of love, and not pain or fear. "What do you mean?" he asked innocently. Deep down he knew what she meant. He just couldn't believe she meant it.

"I want you to make love to me Shadow. Please. I love you. I want this more than anything, and I know you do too. I'm ready now. Please…"

Shadow felt conflicted, so many questions and worries popping into his mind that he couldn't focus on a single one. "Rouge, I… are you sure? I don't want you to-"

"I'm positive Shadow. I know I'm ready. Please take me." She kissed him as if to urge him to start. "Please, I know this is what I want. I'm ready now."

Instead of replying he kissed her, that one certain kiss almost causing them to burst. The passion between their lips, and the love they shared with that kiss, would live with them forever. "Rouge I love you so much. I never thought I would ever say that to anyone. You are the greatest thing that ever happened to me." He kissed her again, knowing that a thousand kisses would never be enough for either of them. "I love you too Shadow. Please, give me your love. I want you now more than ever…"

"I love you," they said in unison. And finally, they were ready.

**XXXXX**

Shadow slowly made his way back down to her lower region, kissing every inch of her scarred body as he did so, so overwhelmed by the love and passion she filled him up with that it was hard to stop kissing her. Rouge took very deep breaths, outrageously nervous about what she just gave Shadow permission to do, but so turned on by the fact that they were finally going to _do_it. Her face was painted with want, but underneath all that desire her insides were churning and her heart was pounding so loudly that she was almost convinced it would soon explode. She knew she wanted this… she knew she was ready… but it was by far the hardest thing she had ever had to allow. It meant letting go of her past, the past that tainted and stained her heart for so many years. But she coveted this moment for so long, and now that it was finally here, she wasn't about to waste it.

The black hedgehog could sense her anxiety. Her body was shaking in fear and he could feel her heartbeat throughout her entire being. Even though her face said she was ready, he could see that she was beyond terrified. Her fear made him feel guilty, knowing that it wasn't particularly his fault, but still upset by the fact that he was scaring her. He tried to say some soothing words to her to calm her down. "Rouge, please don't be scared. You have nothing to be afraid of. I won't hurt you; I'll be as gentle as possible." He caressed her cheek as she looked up at him innocently, smiling simply for his sake. "I promise that it will be alright. Just trust me, please." His words helped, and she replied calmly, "I love you Shadow."

He kissed her, reaching over to the nightstand beside the bed and grabbing a small bottle from one of the drawers. It was lubricant, given to him by a coworker the day he turned eighteen. He thought it was an odd birthday gift, but it was actually pretty common to receive lube or other sexual presents once you became a legal master. Since then he had never used it, and he never thought he would _have_to use it, but he was glad he had it now. Rouge noticed the bottle in his hand, its clear liquid shining in the light. "You have lube?" she asked him. "Of course I do," he said. "I can't remember the last time anyone ever used lube to rape me," she said flatly, astonished by the little bottle so much she was afraid to touch it. Shadow couldn't believe she would say that; it was horrible to hear, so horrible he thought he would burst of out anger just thinking about something so awful. Wrapping his arm around her he said to her sternly, "Rouge, that will never happen again. I'd never make love to you without making sure that you were comfortable first. And I'll never rape you either, those days are over. From now on, everything we do together is consensual, understand? And if you ever feel like it isn't, you tell me. Those immoral acts are the past, and I want you to forget about them. You need to trust me; I will never be like those fuckers, I promise."

_Uh oh_, she thought. _Did I make him mad?_"Shadow I'm sorry that I said that. It just sort of came out, I didn't mean for you to hear it. It's just; I was surprised to see it. I'd almost forgotten that it still exists. Most Masters don't use lube on slaves anymore…"

"But you're not my slave Rouge. And I'm not a Master. And don't be sorry that you said it; I'm glad you told me that, because now I know to always use it for you." He reached down and kissed her passionately. "Things will be different from now on Rouge. That's a promise."

His words gave her hope, so much hope that her fear of making love with him was suddenly pushed out of the way for the moment. She smiled, laughing at how wonderful his words made her feel, if only for a little while. "Do you want to keep going?" he asked her.

"Yes," she told him, giggling, wrapping her arms around his torso and pulling him close to her, kissing him again.

He sat up after giving her another peck on the lips, and straddled his legs on either side of her. He squeezed an extremely small amount of lube on his palm and sloppily smeared it on his member, laughing at how amateur his movements were, his cheeks becoming a thin layer of red. The lube was cold, it was icky, and he wanted it off of himself as soon as he put it on. The end result looked so silly it made Rouge laugh at him. "Need help?" she asked sweetly, still giggling. Trying to defend his honor Shadow replied jokingly, "Hey, I've never done this before, ok?" Rouge laughed more, sitting up to try and help him administer the thick liquid correctly. "Here, I'll do it for you." She took the bottle in her hand and squeezed a larger dollop into her palm and gently stroked him, earning a moan from the inexperienced hedgehog. She lathered the lube on him until she thought it was enough, trying to hide the fact that she was also new to using lubricant. "This smells like… strawberries," she said, inhaling the potent stench of the clear lube, glaring at the black hedgehog jokingly as if she couldn't believe that someone like Shadow would buy such a fruity product. He retorted quickly, "Don't look at me, I didn't buy it! I got it as a gift." She laughed, handing him the bottle as she lay back down on the bed and grinned up at him, giggling quietly and looking at him expectantly. He stared at her dumbfounded, not understanding her odd facial expression and giggles. _Man, I am really bad at this thing, aren't I?_he thought to himself. She told him eventually, "Now you use the lube on me! You're cute when you don't know what you're doing, ha ha."

_Oh yeah_, he thought. _Duh, you stupid hedgehog._

He squeezed a much larger amount into his palm this time and gathered it into the tips of his fingers. Trying to be as careful as possible he slowly slid his fingers inside of her, the slippery surface of his digits and her already wet inside making the task pretty easy. After a while of fingering her opening he stole a glance to Rouge hoping she would tell him when to stop, but she was too busy enjoying his touch to notice his confused gaze. He knew she was no longer a virgin, but he _was_, so did that make a difference as to how much lube they should use? Perhaps he should've measured himself? No, that's a stupid idea. But he didn't know what to do!

Luckily, before things got any more complex, Rouge piped up, "Shadow you better stop. Ha, I think, ha, that's enough, don't you?" She couldn't help but laugh at his innocent confusion, shaming Shadow all the while, but also making him happy knowing that her mind was for once not on the daunting task of them having sex. Putting the bottle away he returned to his original position on top of the white bat, the strong smell of strawberries filling the entire room, its intoxicating smell creating an odd aura of silence and awkwardness around them. Their eyes met, and in an instant they were frozen, now both of them unsure of what to do next. Rouge's laughter subsided a little too quickly, and Shadow's embarrassment faded away pretty fast. At last, it became clear to them that there was absolutely nothing standing in the way of them making love now.

And they were both too terrified to move.

Shadow could sense his counterpart's anxiety returning to her, the playful mood she was just in now completely obliterated. Her expression molded into one of familiar fear and nervousness, her giant blue eyes staring up at Shadow, waiting impatiently for him to do something. His heart was pounding against his chest, goose-bumps were sprouting up all over his body, a weird chill going through his veins, as he contemplated his next move.

In one heavy breath, he asked her, "Ready?"

Before she answered, she allowed herself one last attempt at pushing the horrible memories out of her mind. Yes, they were all still there, they had been there the whole time, lined up in neat little rows, ready to petrify her once again. She knew they would always be there, taunting her at random intervals of her life, making some of the simplest tasks extremely intricate and impossible. Almost painfully she tried to force them out of her head, the repulsive images of Mephiles, Silver, and countless other terrible men popping in and out of her vision. But there was one man, a black and red hedgehog, who was so dim she had to squint her eyes in order to see him clearly. It didn't make sense. That hedgehog was right in front of her, she knew he was, but all she saw were Masters that had tortured her throughout the years. With open eyelids she could see his beautiful red eyes staring down at her warmly, but when she closed her eyes all she saw were frightening images of the past. She reached down and aggressively took Shadow's hand, holding it tightly, as if it served as proof that he was actually there with her and not just floating around in her mind. Before her mouth could mutter any other words, and before her heart could change its mind, she told him quietly,

"Yes."

**XXXXX**

Shadow kept Rouge's hand in his, knowing that it would help her get through this. Despite everything he's done to make this as easy as possible for her, he silently wished that he could make it even easier. Kissing her deeply on the lips he brought his lower half down until their abdomens were touching, holding himself up with his elbows in order to get his legs situated correctly. He tried to keep their kiss going for as long as possible before they would have to stop to breathe; at the last minute, he thought it would help if Rouge was preoccupied with their interlocked lips rather than the actual sex. Bringing a hand down he blindly guided himself near her opening until he felt his length touch her private area. At once his heart all but stopped, and for a second he felt like he had absolutely no oxygen going through his lungs, so regrettably he broke their kiss. He could feel both of their body heat rising, the tension between them so thick it was visible. Even before Rouge's panting diminished he forced his lips onto her again, moaning into her mouth, trying anything to get her mind off of the one thing he knew was terrifying her.

He moved his body back into position, shoving away any hesitation or uncertainty he once had, and in one swift movement he pushed into her gently. A loud moan that emanated from the white bat broke their second kiss, and her grip on his hand tightened to the point of stopping both of their circulation. Shadow slid into her further, thankful for the lube which was doing most of the work for him. He kept going, groaning and huffing as if the small task took an immense amount of effort, until he felt his entire self inside of her. It was the weirdest feeling he ever felt, but immediately he fell in love with it, smiling down at the bliss-filled bat who was feeling the same kind of pleasure. He wrapped his arms around her tense body, still feeling the fear she was illuminating, but glad that most of her terror was covered up by the intense pleasure he was giving her. This time she kissed him deeply as if to tell him to continue, and slowly he rocked back and forth inside of her, kissing and licking the inside of her mouth until neither of them could breathe.

He went slowly at first, perhaps a little too slow, as he tried to get a good feel of what to do. Rouge wasn't a virgin, so he probably could've started off harder and faster, but he was afraid it would possibly scare her and force them to stop, so he kept his thrusts slow and easy, and even then it brought them wonderful feelings of pleasure. She wrapped her arms around his torso and moaned seductively, enjoying this new feeling of sex. For once, someone was actually taking it slow, building up the pleasure and easing into the love making until she said he could go harder, which she announced surprisingly quickly. At first Shadow was hesitant to push himself deeper into her, but Rouge assured him that she wanted more, so he slowly started to speed up his actions.

"Oh God Shadow… ooohhh, yes, Shadow, oh!" Her obnoxious moans sent sweet signals to him which told him that she was genuinely enjoying this. No sign of trepidation or shame was evident on her face, and the sight of seeing Rouge so happy, so perfectly happy, urged Shadow to further his thrusts even more. He pounded into her, his virgin self loving this new, wonderful feeling. This type of love made him feel dominant and powerful, but in no way intimidating or painful to Rouge. No matter how hard he went or how threatening he may have come off as at first sight, he never exceeded the limit Rouge and he subliminally placed before starting. He constantly made sure she was enjoying herself, and her sweet moans from underneath him, he found, were even more of a sexual high and thrill than the actual sex. This moment, right here, was quite possibly the happiest he had ever seen her, and he wanted so badly to carve an image of her happiness into his heart so he could always reflect on it. It seemed like the world and everything in it was perfect, and that nothing could stop their love making. Below him he could feel the mess their sex was creating: a sticky, cold, wet mixture coming from both of their private areas. _But man,_ he thought, ignoring the small puddle beneath him, _this feels so fucking good!_

Rouge buried her face into the middle of his neck, purring and cooing into his soft fur. The pleasure they were creating felt like it could last forever. Never in her life had she felt something quite like this; sex was never a pleasing experience for her, and it never ended in a climax for her either. Shadow's love making was unlike anything she had ever experienced; his thrusts, his pounds, even his moans, were all for her, just like everything else he ever did or said. Spreading her legs wider she bucked her hips into him, bringing him closer to her body and kissing him. They moaned into each other, enveloped in a sexual heaven the likes of which neither of them had ever known before. "Ooohhhh… you feel, so good! Keep… going... ooohhh!" they screamed in unison.

"Ugh, oh God!" the black hedgehog grunted, practically molding his body into hers. Wanting every inch of her sweet body he rammed into her harder and faster until the act became a sexual pain that drove both of them over the edge in pleasure. He soon felt himself getting hotter, the intense amount of pleasure he was feeling almost blinding him. Tears were in his eyes, and his body was begging for release, which he delayed for as long as he was able to. He wished that this moment could last forever; there was no way he ever wanted this to end. Rouge was feeling the same heat rising in her own body, wet eyes and numb limbs making it hard to stop her orgasm. They both thought to themselves, _Are we even in reality anymore? Because this feels way better than reality._

"Rouge, fuck… I'm so close… ooohhh fuck yeah…Oh God I'm… fuck, fuck!"

"Shadow, yes… oh fuck, I'm gonna… oh God, oh God, fuck!"

Giving one last thrust into her, Shadow's muscles froze and his mind turned into a clear, sparkling liquid of pleasure. Taking his last thrust Rouge tilted her head back and gasped, her mind also turning into a shapeless abyss of happiness. In one breaking second that neither of them would ever forget, they climaxed, grabbing onto each other tightly and screaming each other's name. No other words, no other sounds, not a single movement on either of their parts; just the sound of each other's name, and an ecstasy that captured both of them. For an instant they left reality and fell into a paradise of white bliss. They could've stayed there until the end of time, but they were abruptly brought back to the real world by their trembling, panting, practically shattered minds. A larger puddle of cum had formed underneath them, staining the bed sheet, their bodies now incredibly sticky and messy, the cold liquid shocking them as they were reluctantly released from their heaven. With his body now useless and numb, Shadow fell onto Rouge's side, still holding her close to him, never wanting to let go of her. In a ridiculously difficult movement Rouge managed to turn toward him, snuggling closer to him until their bodies held no space between them. They could barely see, barely speak, their exhausted forms were shaking, trying hard to recuperate from the most intense orgasm they've ever experienced.

For the longest time the only thing either of them could pronounce was, "I love you."

After many minutes of recuperation, they finally got the sense knocked back into them, and life became clearer and recognizable. But instead of leaving, cleaning up, or even sleeping, they simply stared at each other, holding their counterpart's body in their arms, perfectly content. They stayed that way for hours, neither of them wishing for anything better. They both already received the best thing they could ever dream of, and nothing in the world could compete with what they were just given.

A pale moonlight shone through the windows of his bedroom, illuminating their bodies and lighting up their damp, tired faces. The time spent holding each other lasted longer than they thought it would, and soon it would be morning. After the longest time, Rouge was finally able to say in short, small breaths, "Thank you, Shadow. Thank you so much for that." Her voice was soft and exhausted, but sincere. Shadow felt his heart glow when he heard her words. "Thanks for letting me do it," he replied shakily, his voice holding a certain apologetic feel to it, as if he was to blame for the frightening and difficult task she was thanking him for.

Hearing the sadness in his voice, she shifted her eyes down sorrowfully. "It wasn't the sex I was afraid of, Shadow," she admitted after a long silence. "I was afraid of my memories. Every time we would get intimate, I would see _them_instead of you. I was never afraid of you, Shadow. My past was what terrified me, not you. And I'm sorry for making it so hard for you. But you don't need to worry about it anymore. It doesn't make a difference now anyway."

His eyes showed a warm understanding which made it easier for her to say this. He would give anything to suck up those bad memories from her head and burn them until they were nothing but black, burnt pieces of what used to be. He let some time pass before asking, "Rouge, you remember when I first brought you here; how scared you were?"

She nodded, confusion painting her face as she pondered why he would bring up something so dismal.

"Remember the promise I made to you?"

She thought hard about the question, but before she could answer he said, "I promised that I would-"

"-Protect you," they finished in unison.

He continued, "I promised that I wouldn't let you break. For the longest time you were nothing but a fragile shard of a person that I thought would shatter to pieces in any moment. I was so worried about you. I never dealt with anybody so frail before; I didn't know what to do."

She nodded thoughtfully, thinking back on how hard she must have made things for him, and how monumental the emotional toll on the poor hedgehog must have been.

"And now look at you," he said in disbelief, shifting both of them onto their rears so now they were leaning against the headrest of the bed. He hugged her closer, her painfully bruised body and her joyful smile serving as a juxtaposition of the past and the present. "You're not the person you used to be. Everything about you has changed. You're not fragile anymore. You're not some object that can be broken and repaired. You are a real person. I can't believe how far we've come from that one day I found you. That day… it could've never happened. None of this" – he waved his arms out in front of him, gesturing toward an imaginary object – "none of this would have happened. It wouldn't even be here."

Taking in his words she nodded slowly. "I wouldn't be here," she told him softly, afraid to even say those terrible words in fear of jeopardizing the present. "If it wasn't for you, my life would have ended. You saved me when you found me in that alley. And since that day you took care of me. I was a complete stranger, and nonetheless a slave, but you still helped me." The images of the past were too powerful to ignore, and in one short breath she started to cry. Memories jumped around inside her head, some passing through for merely seconds, others intending to stay for a while. She wondered why her life was constantly recorded in images that always managed to show up at the worst of times. "Shadow, you healed me," she almost blurted out, the tone of her voice wrapped around an array of confusing and scary emotions that she thought for sure would kill her instantly if she did not control them. "I want you to know that. I may never understand why God led you to me, or why He thought our stars should cross, but I thank Him every day for bringing us together. You are the best thing He has ever given me." She tilted her head up so their eyes could meet, and she whispered, "Shadow, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"When people say, ''Till death do you part,' is that actually true? Can you actually love someone until your very last breath?"

It was a tricky question, but he tried to answer honestly. "Well, I don't know if it's true or not. But it's nice to think that it is, isn't it?"

She nodded in agreement. "Shadow, do you think the love we feel right now will be exactly the same on our deathbeds? Can genuine love last that long? It seems impossible… I guess what I'm trying to say is, do you think you will love me until the day I die?"

"No, I won't."

Her eyes widened. It wasn't the answer she was expecting.

He told her, "I'll love you until the day _I_die. And if that day is hundreds of years after you're gone, or just one single day, it won't matter. I'll love you for eternity if I can, and maybe even longer than that."

She smiled. "I love you Shadow."

"I love you too."

The sun was beginning to rise, the light shining through the window eventually finding its way to their faces. Its radiance brought a sparkle to their glossy eyes, enveloping them in a white glow that was as bright as diamonds and as blinding as the stars.

"Rouge," Shadow said, looking down at the glistening bat, "you're shining."

"Shining?" she asked, not even bothering to open her eyes to see what he meant. Her head was cuddled into his chest, his arms wrapped around her in a protecting fashion.

He laughed. "Yeah, you're shining. Your whole body is gleaming like the sun. You're so beautiful." Her skin sparkled like glitter, the scars on her body adding a colorful vibe to the transparent effect her body was giving off. They looked like stains on a clear, bright surface, illuminating so perfectly you would think that Rouge was nothing but a beautiful translucent ray of light…

…like a piece of glass.

**XXXXX**

**I'm glad I got this out before the year was up. I really wanted to post this for Christmas, so it could serve as my present to you guys. I want to thank every one of my readers for taking the time to read this; I could not have done any of this without you guys. You're feedback and comments during this entire process helped me become a better writer, and for that I am truly grateful. Thank you so much for your support! :)**

**This isn't the last you've seen of me! I promise I'll be back! Until next time guys! And please review! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter and the story as a whole!**

**Thanks,**  
**KKmarie2121**


	35. Epilogue

**~Epilogue~**

**Chapter 33 Life Goes On**

Frosted windows were lined with multi-colored lights, the glow of each little bulb bouncing of the walls, a ghostly, colorful circle of luminous light surrounding each bulb. Virgin snow covered the grass, lighting up the night sky. A frail snowstorm quickly added brand new specs of white to the already high mounds dominating the yards and streets. The brisk December air forced outsiders back into their heated homes which would be filled with even more playful lights, decorations, music, and maybe even a festive tree in the family room.

The whole world could feel the warmth and happiness the holiday brought to their lives, and for the first time in eternity, Shadow, Rouge, Blaze, and their new addition, could feel the love that they were surprisingly given this year.

Two years had passed. Two long, painful years, which were spent forgetting, remembering, regretting, trying, hurting, crying, losing, suffering… and probably most painful of all: living. The three of them, eventually four, found their lives greatly changed by the inevitable events that were bestowed upon them. They were seen as bad people, outcasts, immoral, traitors, demons…

And to some people, they were seen as heroes.

The last couple of dreadful years were also spent moving from place to place; never quite knowing where they were headed next, and never quite knowing where they've been. After ages of traveling, they finally found happiness in a little town on the outskirts of Mobius City.

The town didn't have a name; most people just called it "that town," always managing to add a hint of disgust in their voice as they said it. Of course, the inhabitants of the town knew exactly who they were. There was nowhere in the world they could go where a single soul could not recognize them. But instead of being ostracized by the civilians, they were welcomed into the town. This took the four of them by surprise, but they soon learned why they were not forbidden to live there:

These people were slaves, slaves who had branched out of the government's control and formed their own society. A select few of them were Masters, but the majority was slaves, whose collars had been ripped off by their own hands, and whose pride and self-respect had stayed intact, unlike the countless other slaves of Mobius who had been broken and defeated. They took no authority from anyone. The Masters took no authority and held no authority. They lived as normally as the slaves did. The rules of the government were protested and ignored. Instead of living separated by a social structure, they lived as a community, erasing the lines of difference between them, and lived as regular people, which made them abnormal in the eyes of everyone else.

You're probably wondering how they were able to live like this. Why would the government allow them to discard the Master-slave code which was enforced upon the rest of the planet?

Well, the reason is because there were only 70 people living in this town. With a number as minuscule as 70, they posed no threat to the government; the chances of a rebellion were millions to one. And besides, the people of this town weren't seeking a rebellion. They were seeking freedom, and they got it. So they were literally taken off the map of Mobius, and, if it was possible, they would've been taken off the face of the planet too. Just because the government allowed them to live like this did not mean they condoned their defiance. As punishment, this town was frowned upon by surrounding cities and counties, ignored by the government completely, and left to fend for themselves, which they succeeded in doing. This town of 70 was a wealthy, successful, happy town filled with free people who made their own choices and lived in their own, perfect world, shutting out the rest of Mobius. And the government need not worry about the town ever expanding out of their control. For every Mobian who retaliated against the Master-slave code, there were 100,000 Mobians who obeyed and worshipped the code, so the town could never populate too many people. In fact, 70 civilians was the highest population number the town had ever had.

And eventually, their town of 70 became a town of 74.

Shadow managed to find a job in the town. Rouge did too, while Blaze stayed home with her son, Venice. He was two years old now, a small, grey hedgehog, with short, blunt quills, which reminded Shadow of Sonics' quills, bright blue eyes and a pretty smile. He was absolutely adorable, harboring a pale reflection of Blazes' beauty and a hint of something masculine that none of them could put their finger on. Blaze had no clue who the father was; he looked like the perfect cross between Mephiles and Silver. But she didn't care; she figured that knowing who fathered her son would plant a terrible hatred for Venice which was the last thing she wanted. She loved him, so she pretended that he wasn't part of Mephiles or Silver, and when he asked her who his daddy was, she would tell him that Shadow was his daddy. Not his birth daddy, of course, but just his "daddy," and since Venice couldn't tell the difference between the two, he accepted Shadow as a father figure.

The Christmas season happened upon the four faster than it should have, and with the novelty of starting a new life in a new town still going strong, they were unprepared for the holiday buzz.

Still, they managed to set up some decorations and a tree, which filled their small house with a lovely affection they had begged to feel for the longest time. It was a week and a half before Christmas, and Blaze, Venice, and Rouge were busy placing ornaments on a small, green, artificial Christmas tree while Shadow was at work. Rouge, now with a protruding belly of her own, sat to rest for a moment while holding her stomach, feeling Shadow's presence clandestinely through the tiny being inside of her. She had grown out of her constant need of Shadow's protection, but it was nice to know that a piece of him was always with her for the time being.

Upon arriving in this new town Shadow and Rouge quickly decided they wanted to start a family. Since they both had a job now, living with five people was easily affordable. But they knew that they could never get legally married as two Masters, which was technically the only way that you could be considered husband and wife in Mobius. Although this town did hold "weddings," Rouge's record still showed her as a slave, and Shadow's as a Master, so there was no possible way for them to be legally married in the eyes of the government and church, and ultimately they could never be considered a couple. Still, they held a small ceremony, with only him, her, Blaze and Venice present, and they exchanged their vows and slipped on their rings. It wasn't fancy, it wasn't long, it wasn't cheerful, and it certainly wasn't "legal," but it satisfied them, and they were happy knowing that they were now devoted to each other forever.

Often times they would think back on what their lives used to be, and the difference between the present and the past was so haunting and great that it shocked them to death. Although there was no point to harp on the past, the shock also gave them a sense of security and happiness knowing that the worst part was over, and that it would never repeat itself again. The four of them, soon to be five, were content with who they are, and also with who they were, because they've learned that if it wasn't for the past, the present would not have been possible.

Shadow had often promised Rouge many things, and looking back, they both realized that none of those promises, no matter how compromised they might have been, were ever broken. He was still here, she was still here, and their love for each other never died.

And they promised each other, for the rest of their lives, that they would never, ever break.

**~The End~**


End file.
